Through the Years, Season 7: The Kalos League
by Evanibble
Summary: Months after the Vertress Conference, 22 year-old Niko and his friends, Charlotte and Warren, travel to the Kalos region to learn more about mega evolution and challenge the gyms along the way. This is a story of their adventures—and misadventures—through the region with the Pokémon that they meet on the road. Enjoy!
1. The City of Light

**Episode 1: The City of Light**

Niko sat near his gate in Castelia City's airport. In the next hour, he would be travelling to the Kalos region with his two friends, Warren and Charlotte, and starting a new journey there. He was alone in waiting for them—he chose to not bring any Pokémon with him again, electing to start fresh as he always did.

It was a bright, late-summer afternoon in Castelia City, and Niko sat by the window to see planes leave and enter the airport, carrying hundreds of people from all over the region and the world. It was also odd to be in Castelia City after competing in the Unova League—he usually didn't return to a region after leaving it, either. While he waited, he thought about the things Professor Oak told him about mega evolution. He had a few Pokémon that were capable of it, but how would he get them to that point? What would he have to do, besides get a mega stone for each of them? Where would he find them? And, even if he did get the necessary materials, would that simply be it? Would he need to do more?

It made him regret not asking Elliot about it.

"Niko!" He heard a familiar, masculine voice call from across the gate. Looking up, he saw Warren and Charlotte walking over. "Long time no see!" He said, walking in for an embrace.

"Hey Warren, and…hey…Charlotte…" Niko said, turning to his female companion.

Charlotte was a short, brunette girl who normally wore jeans, white sneakers, and a thin sweatshirt over a plain shirt. At the airport that day, she looked largely the same as Niko knew her, but she had something in her arms.

"Hey Niko! Look what I got!" She said, holding a Pokémon egg up in front of her friend's face.

"An egg…? But, where did you…?"

"My mother gave it to me. Said it was from a family friend. But neither of us know what's in it." She said, pulling the egg back closer to her.

"Well, that's exciting!" Niko said with a smile. "I can't wait to see what's in it."

"Neither can I. Warren and I kept making guesses the entire way here." She said, looking up at her other male companion. "He thinks it'll be some sort of starter Pokémon. But there are no starter Pokémon that I know of with this kind of pattern…" She said, pointing to the egg with her eyes. It was light brown with a couple black speckles on it.

"Yeah, I've never seen a grass, fire, or water type with that pattern…" Niko said, also curious. "How long ago did you get it? I know that some eggs take longer to hatch than others, so maybe that'll give you an indication? Or at least rule some Pokémon out." He added. _Damn, I wish I had JJ with me right now…he knows way more about this than I do._ Niko thought to himself.

"I got it yesterday, while I was packing. My mom walked in to give it to me. It feels warm, though…" She said, rubbing the egg. "Not too warm, but warmer than I expected an egg to feel."

"Maybe it's a fire type, then?" Niko asked with a shrug. "Could be a Heatmor, those are light brown-looking."

"Ew, no!" Charlotte snapped. "Plus, they don't have black speckles on them!"

"Right, sorry." Niko said, scratching the back of his head nervously. Just then, their gate opened—it was time to leave for Kalos.

Niko, Warren, and Charlotte managed to get seats next to each other. Unfortunately, Niko found himself in the uncomfortable middle seat of the three-seat row, with Charlotte on the window side and Warren on the aisle side. Fortunately, the trip was only a couple of hours, as Kalos was closer to Unova than it was to Kanto.

"So, how was your trip here?" Warren asked for conversation's sake.

"Not bad, didn't really do much." Niko said. "I packed light this time, only really bringing clothes and some other useful things I could find."

"You feel ready for Kalos?" He asked. "There's gyms there, too, right?"

"I believe so. I also head that Lumiose City itself has a gym leader." Niko replied. "Maybe we could try going there first?"

"Worth a shot." Warren said, sitting back. "You didn't bring any Pokémon with you?"

"Nope. You?"

"Poliwhirl, Leavanny, and Pidove, so…all of them." They both turned to Charlotte. "What about you?"

"Oh? Err…Smeargle, Deerling, and Frillish. And this egg, now." Charlotte said, rubbing her egg again.

"Well, if worse comes to worse, Niko, you can borrow some of my Pokémon for the Lumiose Gym." Warren offered.

"Thanks, but I'd like to go out and catch something in Kalos, too."

"Oh, no doubt. But if you need any of my Pokémon, they'd gladly fight with you."

"I appreciate that, Warren." Niko said before laying back and waiting for the airplane to land. Like with boats, Niko quickly got motion sickness on flights, and found it best to close his eyes and ignore the sounds and motions around him.

* * *

"Niko, we just landed!" Warren whispered as Niko opened his eyes, looking around at other passengers getting up from their seats and grabbing their bags. Niko slowly got up as well, grabbing his bags from the overhead compartment and handing Charlotte's to her.

Once they left the Lumiose City Airport, they looked out at the world ahead of them. Even from their vantage point on the ground, they could tell the city was larger than they realized.

"Where…do we start…?" Warren asked as they began walking through the city, down wide, brick-laid streets, watching as hundreds of people did the same. They passed by dozens of cafes, shops, and restaurants as they navigated their way through the city. "This place is enormous!"

"It's also the largest city in the Pokémon world." Charlotte added as they stared up at a massive tower off in the distance.

"I believe it." Niko said as he watched some kids ride a massive green goat down a street alongside cars. "What the…"

"What a cool Pokémon." Charlotte said as they saw the goat run by them. "Wonder what it's called."

"Think we should ask where Professor Sycamore's office is?" Niko wondered as they stopped at the corner of a block. Looking around, he saw more unfamiliar Pokémon. One of them was a large blue frog with a long, pink tongue wrapped around its neck.

"I'm actually kinda hungry." Warren said. "Think we could grab something to eat first?"

"Sure. Why not that place?" Niko said, pointing to the first restaurant that he saw. "Restaurant…Le Yeah? What an odd name."

"I'm fine with that. I don't think I'll eat too much." Charlotte commented. They soon discovered that the restaurant served unfamiliar food to them—snails, beef stewed in wine, odd-smelling cheeses—but went with it all the same. "This is new…" Charlotte said as she examined the snail coated in garlic and butter sitting in front of her.

"Definitely new." Niko said, looking at the stewed beef. He looked to Warren, who gave him a similar expression.

"How is the meal?" Their waiter, a tall blonde-haired man with a long white apron that ran over his entirely white outfit. A blue neckerchief sat between the opening in his raised collar. On it sat a small orb.

"Just fine, thanks." Niko said.

"New to me, but just fine." Charlotte replied.

"New? Ah, are you three from outside of Kalos?" He asked in a kind tone.

"Yeah, we're from Unova, and he's from Kanto." Warren replied.

"Ah, Unova. Lovely place. I spent a fair amount of time in Castelia City, working my way up in the kitchen. Excuse me, I should have introduced myself. I am Siebold, the head chef of this establishment."

"Niko. And these are Warren and Charlotte."

"Pleasure. Now, what brings you to Kalos?"

"Gym challenge." Warren said. "Niko here is taking it on."

"Ah. I wish you luck. Two of the gym leaders in Kalos—Grant of Cyllage City and Valerie of Laverre City—come here often, and I prepare meals for them. They're both quite interesting people."

"That's cool." Niko said, not sure what else to say. "Do you know anything about the gym leader here?"

"Clemont? Of course, I do. I don't see him often, but he's famous in Lumiose for more reasons than one. He's a lovely man, that's for sure." Siebold said. "Well-traveled, as well, which is odd for a gym leader, especially one from a large city like Lumiose. However…if you're just starting out, I recommend against challenging Clemont. He generally appreciates challengers having four badges before taking him on. Sometimes trainers need more than four."

"Really now." Niko said, looking at Charlotte, who gave him an unusual look. He didn't quite know how to describe it—it was one of interest, but also of concern. Like she had an investment in this knowledge as well.

"Anyways, I'd rather not keep you any longer. Enjoy your meal, and I wish you luck in your journeys." Siebold said before turning and leaving.

"He had a mega stone." Niko said once Siebold was out of hearing range. "Did you notice it?"

"No?" Warren said. "Is that a big deal?"

"Not really, but he's definitely not just a chef." Niko said with fascination.

"Well, a lot of trainers have multiple professions." Charlotte added. "Like Clay, or Skyla. Or Drayden! Drayden's a mayor!"

"I know, but still…I think it's cool. I wonder which mega stone it was." Niko said, turning back in the direction Siebold left, and seeing nothing.

* * *

Leaving Restaurant Le Yeah, the group continued their search for Professor Sycamore's office. After asking a random passerby, they discovered that the lab was on the opposite end of the city—in the southeast, and they were in the north—which made Warren audibly groan.

"We could just take a taxi there." Niko suggested.

"I like that idea." Charlotte added. "We can split it between the three of us, and it shouldn't take too long."

Finding the first taxi they could, the trio hopped in and gave directions to Professor Sycamore's lab, which was located just across from Vernal Avenue, in the southeast side of Lumiose City. Interestingly enough, their taxi driver mentioned taking another trainer there just an hour ago.

"Yeah, the young man—probably 'round your ages, actually—was off to get a Pokémon from Professor Sycamore. That what you kids are up to?"

"Well, no. I want to ask him about something on my mind." Niko said.

"Oh? Well Sycamore is a smart guy. It's like he knows everyting!" Their driver said with an accent.

"Hopefully he knows about mega evolution too." Niko muttered.

"Oh, he does! He was one of da guys that discovered it!"

"Really now?" Niko asked.

"Yeah! Bout a decade ago he and some other scientist people found them mega stones. It was all over da news!"

"Huh. Guess my questions will get answered, then." Niko said. Soon enough, they arrived at the lab. As they got out, they noticed someone leaving. He was roughly Niko's height and tan-skinned with a small afro on his head. As he left, a Charmander in tow, he nodded briefly to Niko before heading towards Vernal Avenue.

"That must be the guy our driver was telling us about…" Warren mentioned as they watched him walk off.

"Must be." Niko said before turning to look at the lab itself. It was three-story building with a large courtyard outside. Walking through it, Niko admired the attention to the gardens established on both sides of the front door, which was made of glass and slide open automatically.

When they entered, a woman old enough to be Niko's mother walked by with a curious expression on her face. She had long, dark teal hair and a white lab coat over a pale blue shirt and pencil skirt. She pushed up her glasses and looked at the trio with a kind smile.

"Hello, how may I help you?" She asked.

"Hi, my name is Niko. I'm here to speak with Professor Sycamore."

"Oh? Do you have an appointment?"

"Err…no. I don't."

"I see. He usually likes to plan ahead of their meeting. What exactly is this about?"

"Mega evolution. I have some questions about it." Niko added.

"Hmm. I'll see what I can do, then." She said. Just as she turned towards a set of stairs, she gasped. "Oh, Professor!" She said.

"Hello." A tall, black-haired man said as he walked down the stairs. Unlike the woman, he wasn't wearing a lab coat. Instead, he wore a pure blue dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up and tight black pants with a golden belt. "Sophie, who are these people?"

"They're here to talk to you about mega evolution." Sophie said with a smile.

"Well, fortunately I'm free. Just got done meeting with a new trainer. Said he's off to go the gym challenge." Sycamore said. "But, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Augustine Sycamore. I run the laboratory here in Lumiose City. And…you are?"

"Niko. I'm from Pallet Town in Kanto. Professor Oak referred me to you." Niko said, shaking the Sycamore's hand.

"Warren, from Castelia City."

"Charlotte, also from Castelia."

"Ah, I've always enjoyed Castelia City. I briefly studied at their university there. It's where I met my colleague and good friend, Aurea Juniper. Are you familiar with her?"

"Yeah, I've met her before." Niko said.

"Ah, you've been around then, haven't you? Sam Oak…that's someone I haven't seen in quite some time. Now…come with me. If you want to discuss mega evolution, I'd like to take you around the lab, if you don't mind."

Niko nodded, and the trio walked along with Sycamore and his assistant, Sophie. He showed them into a massive garden with Pokémon—familiar and unfamiliar—running around aimlessly.

"This is where I keep Pokémon, either for research or to help find them a home. I'm bringing you here for that reason, right there." Sycamore said, pointing to a Garchomp. "This Garchomp was my first test-subject for mega evolution, several years back. Tell me Niko, what do you know about mega evolution?"

Niko explained his battle with Elliot in the Vertress Conference, and then his discussion with Professor Oak about the subject that past summer. When he was finished, Sycamore nodded pleasantly.

"Ah, so you know enough. There isn't much more for me to tell you, then. Other than if you want to practice mega evolution yourself, you need three things—a key stone, a Pokémon capable of mega evolution, and its corresponding mega stone." Sycamore said, rubbing the forehead of the Garchomp that had just arrived.

"That's it…?" Niko wondered. "Really now."

"Yep! Once you have those, all you need to do is practice with your Pokémon. It requires a strong bond between trainer and Pokémon, so be careful. Even the strongest bonds will still give way to difficulty."

"I'll keep that in mind, thanks." Niko said.

"Now, you didn't just come to Kalos to talk to me, did you?" Sycamore asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No. I plan on challenging the gyms here, too."

"Well done. The trainer that just left wishes to do the same." Sycamore said. "It is the job of the professor to help a trainer start off. Is this your first gym challenge?"

"It's my sixth…actually." Niko said.

"Sixth? Huh…I once knew a trainer just like that." Sycamore said, looking towards the sky for whatever reason. "He turned out quite well, as it seems. Anyways! If you would like, I could give you a Pokémon to start off with."

"Niko actually left all of his Pokémon in Pallet Town!" Warren uttered out.

"Perfect then." Sycamore said, motioning for them to follow. While they walked, Sycamore continued to talk. "The gyms here are…not easy. I would advise against immediately challenging Clemont, here in Lumiose City, but there is a gym just southeast of here in Santalune City. Viola is her name, and I think she would prove to be a decent starting point for you."

"Thanks. How far is Santalune City?"

"Erm…a couple of days, I think?" Sycamore asked, turning to his assistant, who shrugged. "Yeah, couple days. Just take route 4."

They arrived in a room similar to other laboratories Niko had seen before. On a desk lay two pokéballs. Sycamore turned to them with an apologetic look.

"My apologies, Niko, but the trainer that just left took with him the water type starter that I usually give out to trainers—Froakie. So, I only have two that you could choose from." He opened both pokéballs. "Here is the grass type—Chespin." Sycamore said. Niko looked down at Chespin.

Chespin was bipedal and mammalian. It had a light-brown front with dark brown arms and three triangular-shaped markings on its face. There was a green shell covering its back that extended from its head to halfway down its tail. Around the face, the shell had four leaf-like spikes, and one split into three parts on the back of its head. The visible part of its tapered tail was orange.

"And Fennekin, the fire type." Sycamore said, sending out a small, pale yellow, foxlike Pokémon. Tufts of dark orange fur cover the insides of its large ears, and it has a white muzzle with longer fur on its cheeks. It has dark orange eyes and a pointed black nose. Its tail is fluffy with a dark orange tip.

"Fennekin is so cute!" Charlotte said, crouching down—egg still in hand—to look at Fennekin.

"It is." Sycamore said before turning back to Niko.

"I think I'll go with Chespin." Niko said, also crouching down to see the grass type. "Do you want to go on a journey with me, Chespin?"

It eyed Niko carefully before somersaulting and striking Niko with its spikes. Niko fell backwards, his face lightly scratched.

"Chespin will take some time to get used to, I'm sure." Sycamore said. "Here's the pokéball for you." He handed Niko a red and white pokéball. "Best of luck. Oh! And here's a pokédex." Sycamore reached into a desk drawer and handed Niko a small orange device that looked more like a remote than anything. "It has information on all of the Pokémon you might find in the Kalos region. But I'm sure you're used to using these kinds of devices."

"Of course. Thanks, Professor." Niko said, returning Chespin to its pokéball. He then turned to Warren and Charlotte. "You guys ready to go?"

"Yeah, but Niko…" Charlotte said, standing back up.

"What's up, Charlotte?"

"I—uh—have something to tell you." She said, almost nervously.

"What is it?" Niko asked, looking concerned.

"I want to take the gym challenge, too!" She blurted out.

Niko blinked for a few moments, trying to process what he just heard. Instead of shock, he responded with a smile. "Awesome. Let's do it."

"Well, in that case…" Sycamore said, getting a second pokédex and pokéball. "Why don't you take Fennekin with you?"

"I can!?" Charlotte said happily, thrusting the egg into Warren's hands and grabbing the two items from Sycamore's. "Fennekin, do you want to come along with us?"

"Fen!" Fennekin shouted happily. Charlotte then opened her pokédex to examine Fennekin:

" _Fennekin, the Fox Pokémon. Fire type. Eating a twig fills it with energy, and its roomy ears give vent to air hotter than 390 degrees Fahrenheit._ "

"Thank you so much, Professor." Charlotte said.

"No problem. And—hey—let me know what pops out of that egg." He said, eying the light-brown and black egg sitting in Warren's arms. "I have an idea, but I'm curious all the same."

"Will do!" She said, pocketing her pokéball and pokédex before taking the egg back from Warren.

"Now, is that all?" Sycamore asked. When the trio nodded, he smiled and led them back to the front door of the lab. "You seem like good kids. Let me know how your journey is progressing, specifically as it relates to mega evolution. I'm curious to see how you handle it."

"Will do, Professor." Niko said, shaking Sycamore's hand.

"And best of luck with the gym challenges, both of you." Sycamore added. "I'm sure you'll give Viola a run for her money."

"Hopefully." Warren added, just as the trio left the lab at sunset. With their sights set on Santalune City, the trio's next journey had officially begun.

* * *

 **Author's Note: New season! Hope you enjoyed**


	2. Fetching Fletchling!

**Episode 2: Fetching Fletchling!**

The first night in Kalos went by smoothly—Niko and his friends found the Pokémon Center with the help of another taxi. After having dinner, the three of them got to their room and, for the most part, quickly fell asleep.

Before she did so, Charlotte introduced Fennekin to her other Pokémon. "Smeargle, Deerling, Frillish—this is Fennekin. She—she?—she'll be joining us on our adventures in Kalos and helping us win gym badges." She said, placing Fennekin on her lap. "Fennekin, these are my other friends."

Smeargle simply waved her tail, to which Fennekin yelped back. Deerling walked up to the edge of Charlotte's bed and nuzzled Fennekin's paw. Frillish simply held out a tentacle, and Fennekin grabbed it with her paw. Charlotte smiled—it was nice to see her Pokémon becoming friendly with one another. Now, all that was left was her mysterious egg.

Charlotte placed Fennekin next to the egg. "And this…well, I don't know what's in it yet. But soon enough, we'll have another friend join us." She said. Fennekin eyed the egg carefully before nuzzling the shell. "Guess you two are already friends!"

The following morning, Charlotte was the first awake, despite being the last to fall asleep. Picking up her egg, she walked with her small team of Pokémon out to the practice battlefield, just as she had watched Niko do on countless occasions. She wanted to not only see what Fennekin was capable of, but also get her other Pokémon into the habit of fighting as well.

"Alright Fennekin! Use—err—ember?" Charlotte asked. She had no idea what Fennekin _could_ learn, but it wasn't too much to assume that the Fox Pokémon knew how to use ember. And, as it turned out, she was correct—Fennekin opened her tiny mouth and spit out a series of flames that lit up briefly on the ground before dissipating in the dirt. "Well done!" Charlotte said, happy to know that her Pokémon knew how to do _something_. "Frillish, Deerling, Smeargle, let's get in on this, too!" She said, motioning for her other three Pokémon to practice their moves.

Smeargle worked on the release of her hex attack, while Deerling practiced double kick and faint attack. Frillish attempted to quicken the release time of her water pulse and night shade attacks. They worked on these moves for nearly half an hour before Niko and Warren arrived.

"Morning, Charlotte." Niko said, looking impressed. "I see you're busy."

"I am!" Charlotte said, looking absolutely pleased with herself. "It feels great to train with your Pokémon! I now see why you did it so much!"

"Heh, yeah." Niko said, looking out at the four Pokémon running around. "Say, how about we have a battle?"

"Really?" Charlotte asked curiously.

"Yeah. Chespin and Fennekin. Whaddya say?"

"Uh…sure, why not?" Charlotte asked. "Hey, Fennekin! Come here!" She said, patting her knees as the Fox Pokémon trotted over to her. "Let's battle our friend Niko and his new Chespin. You up for it?" Fennekin yelped happily. "Excellent. You're on, Niko!"

Niko took to one end of the battlefield while Charlotte and Fennekin took to the other; Warren and Charlotte's other Pokémon sat down on a nearby bench to watch. Niko pulled out his only pokéball and threw it into the air. "Chespin, you're up!" He shouted, summoning the Spiny Nut Pokémon. "Use tackle!"

"Fennekin, ember!" Charlotte shouted. However, she quickly noticed that Chespin wasn't coming for her Pokémon. Instead, it lay on the ground, fast asleep. "Uh…Niko?"

Niko looked down at Chespin with shock. "You're kidding me…Chespin!" He shouted, just as a series of small fireballs hit his Pokémon, immediately waking it up. "Great! Use tackle!" Niko shouted. Instead, Chespin just growled at Fennekin, which hardly seemed to affect the calm and graceful fox. "Chespin… _tackle_. No! Not vine whip! Tackle!"

Chespin went back to sleep.

Slamming his palm to his face, Niko muttered for Chespin to return to its pokéball and pocketed it. "Charlotte, I'm sorry. I had no idea Chespin wouldn't listen to me…I guess I have to figure this out soon, before we get to Santalune City…" Niko said, looking down at the pokéball Professor Sycamore gave him.

"It's alright, Niko! Plus, like Warren said, you can borrow our Pokémon if you need to!"

"Thanks, but I'd prefer not to, if I'm being honest." Niko said with a concerned expression. "It's been a while since a Pokémon of mine didn't listen to me. I'm used to it."

"I'd assume so." Charlotte said with a light laugh and a sympathetic smile. "C'mon, let's go get something to eat?" Niko nodded, and the trio went off to a cafe in Lumiose City for the morning before grabbing some supplies at a nearby supermarket.

As Professor Sycamore told them the previous day, the trip to Santalune City would take a couple of days. It was to the southeast of Lumiose, and was a largely forested part of the region with lakes and small canyons aplenty. During that first day, the trio largely spent time walking. The last occasion during which they travelled was in Unova, on their way to Vertress City. Back then, they spent more time stationary than walking so Niko could have some time to train in preparation for a then-uncertain league challenge.

Much of the walk consisted of the three exchanging conversations about their summers at home. Niko learned that Charlotte was frequently with Warren and Sydney, often going to new—and old—places in Castelia City, playing around with the Pokémon, and generally relaxing. Warren took a part time job during those couple of months doing freelance writing tutoring for college students while also transcribing the entries in his booklet to a computer, hoping to one day publish it as a novel.

"I'll call it: Adventures in Unova!" Warren said, waving his hands gracefully through the air as if placing words above his head.

"Sounds a little bland." Charlotte said bluntly.

"Think so?"

"Yep." Niko added.

"Okay, then what should I call it?" Warren asked.

"I don't know…" Niko said, genuinely at a loss for words. How would he describe his journey in Unova? "A…a redemption? Maybe?"

"That could work. Maybe not exactly that, but I like the direction you're taking it. It was kind of a redemption for you, if you examine it from a certain angle." Warren commented.

Niko nodded, reflecting on the potential title and wondering if he could think of a different one. Concluding with nothing in particular, he switched to pondering his problems with Chespin. He has only really interacted with the Spiny Nut Pokémon on two occasions now—once when he met the Pokémon, and when he battled Charlotte's Fennekin. Soon enough, he'd be at the Santalune City Gym, battling Viola for his first gym badge in Kalos. Could he get Chespin to at least partially listen to him before then?

He had dealt with Pokémon refusing to listen to him before, but the environment in which they did was different. On both occasions—Croconaw and Numel—he had other Pokémon to help pick up the pace, and both of those disobeying Pokémon took some time to grow accustomed to Niko. Even Piplup, who didn't explicitly disobey Niko, still had an easier time getting used to his new trainer.

But a simple question remained: _Why_ was Chespin not listening to Niko? Was there a more difficult past that he simply wasn't aware of, or could it just be that Chespin is acting childish? It was important to understand this, since it would determine how Niko approached his new Pokémon.

That evening, the trio sat down around a campfire set up by Smeargle and Fennekin. Warren's and Charlotte's Pokémon were running around playing, and Niko's Chespin was sleeping. The three humans sat on small logs. Warren was recording the past day's adventures, and Niko stared into the fire, deep in thought about something. Meanwhile, Charlotte practiced drawing again with Smeargle.

"What're you working on?" Niko finally asked his brunette friend.

"Oh, nothing." Charlotte said, leaning over to show Niko the sketch she was working on.

"Looks like something, though." Niko said with a smirk.

"Stop." Charlotte said with a friendly laugh. "It's Fennekin, actually. Just a pencil sketch."

"Looks nice." Niko commented on the half-finished sketch of the Fox Pokémon. Charlotte had finished the outline of it as well as the fur on her large ears. "Keep it up!"

"Thanks." Charlotte smiled and continued sketching with Smeargle, who accidentally fired off a hex whilst doing so, hitting a nearby tree and causing it to burst into flames. "Frillish, water pulse!"

"Friiiiiiil!" The pink Floating Pokémon shouted as she conjured a pulsating orb of water and thrust it at the burning tree trunk, quickly extinguishing the flames.

"Well then…" Niko said as he watched the trunk sizzle briefly before stopping. "That was exciting."

"You sound sarcastic." Charlotte said plainly, to which Niko nodded. "You're bored, aren't you?"

"A little. It'd help if I had a Pokémon that listened to me." He muttered.

"Why don't you try to get Chespin to listen to you, then?" Warren asked.

"Well, I don't know _why_ he won't listen, that's the problem."

"Why does that matter?" Charlotte inquired.

"Because it would determine how I should approach him." Niko argued.

"It sounds like you're overthinking things." Warren said, staring at Niko from across the fire. "You should just lay down the law with Chespin. Tell him that if he wants to battle, and see the world, and meet new friends, then he needs to get his act together. If not, he can leave."

"That's exactly what I told Numel, and similar to what I said to Croconaw…" Niko said, thinking about the two other times he delivered an ultimatum to his Pokémon. "You're right—tomorrow I'll say something."

"Today." Warren said, pointing to Chespin.

Niko sighed. "Alright, I'll do it." He walked over to Chespin, who was a few feet away from the campfire. Sitting down, he lightly tapped the Spiny Nut Pokémon's arm. "Hey, Chespin…" Niko whispered. "Wake up." Chespin looked up groggily at Niko before realizing who he was, and promptly went back to sleep. "Oh, come on!" Niko said, lightly shaking the small Pokémon now. Now Chespin woke up, stood up, and whipped Niko with green vines, forcing the trainer to scramble back up and away to the campfire. "Fine! Fine!" Niko said, waving away Chespin, who retracted his vines. "I'll leave you alone."

"Geez…" Charlotte muttered. "Guess you don't interrupt his sleep."

"When is he _not_ sleeping, though?" Niko asked in a bitter tone.

Charlotte gave Niko another sympathetic look. She had never had a Pokémon explicitly disobey her, especially in the way that Chespin disobeyed Niko. And when she met his Feraligatr and Numel, they seemed perfectly fine with their trainer. She knew it would all come to pass, it just took time. However, Niko didn't want time. He wanted a quick solution.

* * *

During lunch the next day, the trio stopped by the edge of a river. While Charlotte and Warren were feeding their Pokémon, Niko carefully eyed Chespin, who was sound asleep. He looked at the berry in his hand that he would give to the Spiny Nut Pokémon, and then hastily placed it on the ground in front of the grass type. As Niko expected, Chespin woke up and glared at his trainer before he took the berry and casually began to eat it.

"You like that kind of berry?" Niko asked as he watched Chespin slowly take bites of the pink-orange Magost Berry. The Spiny Nut Pokémon largely ignored him, and continued eating. "I'll take that as a yes, then." He said before reaching for his own food. Just as he did, he noticed something moving in his peripheral vision. Turning, he saw a small red and gray bird Pokémon grab Chespin's berry and fly away with it. "What the—?" Niko asked.

After getting a better look at the bird, Niko noticed how small it was. Barely a foot in length, the bird had a reddish-orange head with a triangular yellow mark on the back of each eye. Its body and wings were gray with white tips on the wings. It had a long, black tail with a white "V"-shaped marking near the tip. The tail ended in two points, and had two feathers sticking out at the base, giving the impression of the fletching on the end of an arrow. It's legs, beak, and eyes were all black. Its legs wee thing and spindly, with two toes facing forward and one pointing backwards.

Chespin in particular was not happy. He angrily whipped out green vines from his neck and extended them far enough to grab the bird and wrap them around it, subsequently throwing it to the ground. Chespin then charged at the bird to tackle it while it was getting back up.

"What Pokémon is that?" Niko wondered, pulling out the pokédex given to him by Professor Sycamore:

" _Fletchling, the Tiny Robin Pokémon. Normal and Flying type. Despite its beauty of its lifting voice, it's merciless to intruders that enter its territory_."

"Flying type…" Niko said. "Alright, Chespin! Let's go! Use vine whip!" He shouted to no avail. Chespin ignored him and continued to try beating on the Fletchling, who managed to take flight once more, tossing the berry aside, and dove back down to use peck on Chespin, knocking the Spiny Nut Pokémon to the ground. Niko watched the two exchange moves a few more times before getting an idea. He ran over to his bag.

"What're you doing, Niko?" Warren asked, watching the battle from their campsite.

Niko pulled out a pokéball from his bag and expanded it. "Making a new friend." He smirked before whipping around and running back to the small conflict raging on. "Pokéball, go!" He shouted, throwing the red-and-white ball at Fletchling. It began to glow bright red before entering the pokéball and falling to the ground. Chespin, still thinking he was fighting it, kicked the pokéball angrily before picking it up. The pokéball clicked when he did so, indicating that the Tiny Robin Pokémon was caught.

"Woah." Warren said, standing up as he watched Niko try to pry the pokéball out of Chespin's hands. It took an unusual amount of strength—and a willingness to endure several vine whips—before Niko finally got his pokéball containing Fletchling back. "Why'd you catch Fletchling?"

"If Chespin won't listen to me now, maybe he will with Fletchling." Niko said, eying the pokéball. "Plus, it'll help to have someone else battling against Viola."

"That's true." Charlotte said with a smile. Niko wasn't rushing things after all, it seemed. He had to take time to figure Chespin out, and his new Fletchling would help with that. "Well done."

"Thanks, Charlotte." Niko said, sending out Fletchling, who fluttered in midair at eye level with Niko. "Hi, Fletchling. I'm Niko, that's Warren over there, and there's Charlotte. We're going on a journey through the Kalos region, and I want to collect all eight gym badges while I'm at it. I'd like for you to join us on that journey."

Fletchling eyed Chespin for a moment before nodding.

"Great. Chespin here is your teammate. Hopefully you two can kind of get along…" Niko said, laughing nervously. Chespin, hearing this, used vine whip on his new teammate, who quickly shifted to the side and dove down to peck him back. The fight was on again, but Niko felt a little better about it. Eventually, he had hoped, Chespin would grow to be more respectful, at the very least.


	3. The sandstorm child

**Episode 3: The sandstorm child**

"Fletchling, use quick attack!" Niko shouted. The Tiny Robin Pokémon took to the sky and proceeded to dive down towards her opponent.

"Leavanny, dodge and strike with leaf blade!" Warren commanded. The Nurturing Pokémon shifted her body to the left and, with a glowing green arm, struck at the small red and gray bird with surprising precision, launching her into the grass.

"Geez Warren," Niko muttered, walking over to pick up his Pokémon, "maybe you should be the one challenging gyms, not me."

Warren pat Leavanny on the head. "I'm perfectly fine with watching you—and now Charlotte—compete in gyms," he said, craning his neck to see their female companion playing with Fennekin and Deerling while Smeargle painted and Frillish watched. "Plus, I prefer to just have simple practice battles. Keeps my Pokémon in shape, too!" he said, once again patting his Leavanny.

"So, you think we'll make it to Santalune City tonight?" Niko asked as the two of them walked back to their bags under the midday sun. Kalos' route 4 had become less of a forested route and now more of a plains region, with trees more sparsely placed. They sat along a river with their Pokémon to rest for the final stretch to Santalune City.

"Think so, not sure though. It seems like we've been travelling for a while," Warren replied as they sat down next to Charlotte, who put Fennekin down to address her friends. "How's it going?"

"Good, Fennekin is fun to play with," Charlotte said as she gazed into the Fox Pokémon's big red-orange eyes.

"I'm glad you and Fennekin have a good relationship," Warren said. "It'll make the gym battles easier."

"Mhmm, I hope so," She turned to Niko, who was quietly listening to the conversation. "How's Chespin?"

"No idea. Been training with Fletchling since I caught her yesterday," Niko replied. "Fast bird…might be the fastest natural flyer I've ever had," he added, watching the Tiny Robin Pokémon flutter around them before joining Fennekin, Leavanny, and Pidove run around on the grass near the river.

"You'll get it soon enough…get his attention, I mean," Charlotte said, holding her legs between her arms as she watched the Pokémon.

"I think so, too," Warren added.

They sat there for some time, just watching their Pokémon run around and play. From Charlotte's perspective, it was almost like the calm before the storm. She felt almost nervous about her upcoming gym battle, and wanted to talk to Niko about it, since they were so familiar to him. _I don't want to bother him with such a trivial question, though…_ She thought to herself. _He obviously does this regularly, why would it be such a big deal for him? I'd just come off as too nervous, I bet._

While she pondered this question, she felt Niko tap her on the shoulder. Turning to him, she saw her friend pointing across their small camp towards a blanket with the light brown egg cradled inside. It was shaking and slowly pulsating the same color as the shell.

"Oh my!" She said, scrambling over to the egg to pick it up. It began to shake violently before illuminating a bright white color and suddenly getting _much_ heavier. Charlotte's hands sank to the ground as she let down her new Pokémon, which was admittedly probably heavier than she was.

The resulting Pokémon was small—just under two feet in height—and was green with skin that felt like a smooth rock. It had a blunt spike on top of its head, a short, rounded snout, and triangular, black markings below and on the upper corner of its red eyes. Red scales covered its diamond-shaped belly, and there were several small holes in its body. Its short arms lacked fingers, while its feet had a single toenail each. It had a tail with a conical center surrounded by a ring of plate-like scales, causing it to resemble a tunnel-boring machine. Upon realizing what it was, Charlotte's eyes widened with wonder.

"No…way…" she said. Niko too knew what it was, but had never seen one in person. He had, however, seen its final form on multiple occasions.

" _Larvitar, the Rock Skin Pokémon. Rock and ground type. It feeds on soil. After it has eaten a large mountain, it falls asleep so it can grow_."

"I…I own a larvitar…" Charlotte said with a mixture of wonder, pride, and disbelief.

"Charlotte, how did you get yours hands on this!?" Warren shouted. "Larvitar is incredibly rare! And…it evolves into…"

"A tyranitar. Yeah, those are really powerful," Niko added, reflecting on the times he's either witnessed or fought a Tyranitar. The poacher Rex comes to mind, as does the trainer that defeated Fay in the Indigo League tournament. "Charlotte, this is actually awesome."

"Y-yeah. It is," Charlotte continued, seeming to be at a loss for words. "Hi, Larvitar. My name is Charlotte. I don't know how I got ahold of your egg, but it was a gift to me, just like you are right now. I hope that we can become close friends," she held out her hand to the small rock type Pokémon, who looked up at Charlotte with wonder. However, Larvitar didn't returned the handshake, instead slapping the hand with its stubby arm. "Ow!" Charlotte yelled out, retracting her hand out of shock. "That—that wasn't nice!" she said scoldingly. Larvitar, out of shock, also retracted itself, but in shame instead of pain. "Oh…I'm sorry, I—I didn't mean to—"

The Larvitar suddenly broke out into an ear-piercing wail that brought the hands of the three trainers—and their trainers—to their ears. Eventually, Fennekin dug into the dirt and spit fire into the air to get the attention of the group. Turning, Charlotte quickly realized what the Fox Pokémon was up to, and smiled.

"You're so smart, Fennekin!" she said happily. "Larvitar, come over here," she pointed to the hole Fennekin dug, which contained rich soil near the riverbank. "You eat soil—will this help?"

Larvitar looked at the soil before picking up some with its arms and tasting a bit of it. It then smiled happily, looking up at Charlotte with pleasure. She smiled in return, happy that she could turn a bad situation around.

"Hey Niko," she asked, looking up at her friend standing next to her, "if Larvitar wants, would you be interested in a battle to test his—or her—skills?"

"Of course!" Niko said, turning to Fletchling. "Hey, buddy! Up for another practice battle?"

Fletchling nodded, fluttering through the air before landing on Larvitar's blunt spike. The Rock Skin Pokémon tried to reach for Fletchling, rocking its body back and forth before the latter flew off. "They're fast friends, I think…" Charlotte said watching Larvitar look at Fletchling with admiration.

Niko and Charlotte created some space between them to commence their practice battle. On one end stood Larvitar and Charlotte; on the other, Niko and Fletchling. The latter knew it was a lop-sided battle in Larvitar's favor, but that wasn't necessarily the point.

"Fletchling, quick attack!" Niko shouted. The Tiny Robin Pokémon sped across the field they created towards her opponent.

"Larvitar, get ready!" Charlotte said hurriedly. Larvitar flinched when Fletchling got close to it, but once the flying type collided with it, Larvitar looked up and realized how little it felt the attack. The Rock Skin Pokémon tilted its head to the side in curiosity. "Fletchling's attacks don't do too much to you, Larvitar," Charlotte said. "Your skin is too hard for her to do meaningful damage."

Larvitar turned to its trainer, still curious. Then it dawned on the rock type to strike back, but it didn't quite know how. The Rock Skin Pokémon tried jumping into the air to grab Fletchling, and failing with each attempt. Eventually, Larvitar gave up, but wasn't happy about it. Instead, it cried out again, releasing its incredibly loud wail. However, this time a sandstorm erupted around it, expanding outwards until it engulfed the entire group.

"What the—?" Niko said, his arm shielding his eyes from the coarse sand flying around him. "Charlotte, return Larvitar!"

"I—okay," Charlotte said, slowly navigating her way to her bag to grab a pokéball, since Larvitar technically didn't have one yet. Reaching down to find a spare one, the brunette threw it at the Rock Skin Pokémon, who immediately went inside the red-and-white ball and collapsed to the ground, wiggling around while the sandstorm dissipated. Ultimately, the pokéball made a clicking sound that indicated a successful capture. "Phew," Charlotte said, sitting down on the sandy-grass mixture under her.

"Well, it knows sandstorm, that's for sure," Warren said, making sure his Pokémon were alright. Niko did the same, whipping sand off of Fletchling's wings.

Charlotte went to grab the pokéball and summon her new Pokémon once more. "Larvitar…it's alright," she said calmly, noticing how visibly upset the little Larvitar was. "When you battle, you're going to get hurt, and frustrated, and you might lose. But that's part of the experience of growing up. Trust me—one day we'll get back at Niko and his Fletchling, alright?" She asked, holding a fist out in front of Larvitar. The Rock Skin Pokémon bumped it before giggling a little.

"Yeah Larvitar, take it from me," Niko said, crouching down next to the Rock Skin Pokémon. "I've been battling for years now, and I've gotten frustrated plenty of times, either with my Pokémon, my opponent, and even myself! But you just have to keep at it, and try not to get frustrated. You're going to be a very strong Pokémon one day. I just know it."

He also fist-bumped Larvitar while Fletchling sat atop its head. Larvitar looked around at all of its new friends, and by the looks of it, seemed to feel a little better.

* * *

Much of the rest of day was spent walking. This time, Larvitar stayed outside of its pokéball and walked along with Charlotte so it could see more of the world. Niko did the same with Fletchling, although it was for the purpose of getting used to being in the presence of her trainer. While they were walking, Charlotte discovered—somehow—that her Larvitar was a male.

The sun was finally setting, and they could see Santalune City off in the distance. However, just as they noticed the city tucked behind the edge of the forest, Larvitar took a sharp right and paused.

"Larvitar…?" Charlotte asked, causing the others to stop. "Are you alright?"

Larvitar turned to his trainer, nodded, and then back to the direction he was looking in. He then began waddling off towards the forest off in the distance. With an expression of concern, Charlotte followed closely behind; her friends in tow as well.

"Larvitar, wait up!" Charlotte shouted, now breaking into a slow jog to keep up with the Rock Skin Pokémon, who was also running now (albeit clumsily). Moments later they arrived at a small cave entrance, hidden in between a dense cluster of trees. Once they got to the cave entrance, Larvitar looked around, and then proceeded to enter.

The trio followed Larvitar inside, walking through a short tunnel that ultimately led into a wider chamber. The chamber was empty.

"What're we doing here?" Warren asked. "There is literally nothing in this cave!"

"Wait a moment…" Niko said, pointing to the far end of the chamber where Larvitar was walking to. "There seems to be."

The three trainers approached the edge of the wall that Larvitar was examining, focusing specifically on a rock leaning against the wall. Larvitar looked the rock for a moment before examining all angles of it, eventually reaching behind it, but didn't seem to pull anything out.

Just as Larvitar retracted his hand from between the rock and the wall, a small, shiny object fell to the ground, rolling across the floor a foot away before coming to a halt. Larvitar looked at Charlotte with the same expression of intrigue that she had.

"What is this…?" She asked, picking up the small, spherical object. It looked like a medium-sized marble. It was a pale green, with a curved black shape nestled in the middle with a red streak running along the top half of it.

"I know what that is," Niko stated confidently. When Warren, Charlotte, Larvitar and Fletchling all turned to him, he continued. "It's a mega stone."

"A mega stone…?" Charlotte repeated in disbelief. "But…for what? For whom?"

"My guess would be Larvitar," Niko said. "Maybe it or Tyranitar is capable of mega evolution?"

"Guess so…" Charlotte said, looking at her newly hatched Pokémon with wonder. "You found this on a whim? That's incredible."

"Maybe Larvitar felt drawn to it?" Warren suggested. "We've never just found a mega stone before, so obviously we don't know how people come to obtain them. But it's possible Larvitar sensed its presence somehow."

"That…makes a lot of sense," Charlotte said, standing up and holding the mega stone in her palm. "Regardless, we should ask Professor Sycamore about it next time we're in Lumiose City."

"Agreed," Niko said. "If it's an actual mega stone—specifically Tyranitar's—it's one step closer for us to understand and experience mega evolution, which will help with our gym battles."

Charlotte looked up at Niko and nodded, still in awe by their discovery and what it meant for her. All she had to do was somehow help Larvitar get to his final stage to test mega evolution out. And, if all went well, she would have a very powerful ally on her side.

Before all of that, however, she still had her first gym battle coming up in Santalune City. The nervous feeling seemed to accentuate the closer they got to the city, eventually completely occupying her thoughts as they entered the Pokémon Center for the night.


	4. A day in Santalune

**Episode 4: A day in Santalune**

Santalune City was, as its residents liked to call it, a "traditional city." There weren't towering buildings and big businesses based there, like they were in Lumiose City. Most buildings were only three or four stories high at most, and generally made of brick. All of the roads were made of brick. And many houses had gardens filled with colorful flowers of every possible shape, size, and color. In the center of the city, a large statue of Roselia made of stone sat in the center of a fountain.

The morning after Niko and his friends arrived in the town, they took time to explore. The first place they visited was a small bookstore, which Charlotte noticed upon their arrival and expressed interest in exploring.

"Hey, Niko!" Warren said, beckoning his friend to him. "Check this out—it's a book on the myths of Kalos. You like history, don't you?"

Niko nodded, taking the book. It was titled "Kalos: A 3,000-year-old history."

"Huh. Interesting," Niko muttered, opening the dusty, leather-bound book to the inside cover page, which was a large picture—spanning two pages—depicting two armies at war with their Pokémon, all suited up in armor. Above each side was a Pokémon. One looked like a massive stag-like creature with glowing antlers, and the other was avian and draconian in nature and looked like it pulsated a blood-red color on the inside of its wings and body. "War…"

"Looks like it was a nasty one, too," Warren added as they examined the picture. "Probably ruined the region. That's how it was in Unova, remember?"

"I do. It's interesting, though. I might grab it," Niko said, placing the book back on the shelf while he contemplated it. Meanwhile, Charlotte walked down the aisle they were on with a book of her own. "Watcha got there?"

With a wide grin, she proudly held up a small book with a sketch of the Kalos region on the front cover. "It's a guidebook for travelers!"

"Of course," Warren said jokingly. "we do need one of those, though."

"Indeed," Niko added, still staring at the book. When Charlotte asked what he was doing, Warren said that Niko, as usual, had difficulty making a decision. "I do not!" he snapped, to which his friends snickered.

"Niko, you need a haircut," Charlotte mentioned as they exited the bookstore, each with a new book for their trip. "It's getting pretty long."

Niko felt his brown-ish hair, which was by now down to his shoulders and growing out on each side to create an unkept mane similar to that of a lion. As he thought more about it, he couldn't quite remember the last time he got a haircut. _It must've been when I was in Sinnoh, I think_. Relaying this to Charlotte, he was taken aback by her shock.

"Yep, we're getting you a haircut," she said forcefully. Her tone of voice might have surprised Niko the most—she was usually not this demanding. Charlotte then glared at Warren for confirmation, and he immediately concurred. "Alright, let's go find a place. I should have been more proactive about this when we were in Lumiose City, but now will suffice too."

"Why are you being proactive at all?" Niko asked with a tone that suggested complaint.

"Because look at you!" she said, reaching up to grab a tuft of hair and yanked it, eliciting a yelp from her friend.

"Yeah, but you're usually not this…forceful?" Niko said slowly and carefully, trying to choose his words in as diplomatic a way as possible.

"I know. Normally I don't," Charlotte said in a much more sympathetic tone. "You do need a haircut, though. Can you deny that?"

"Guess not."

"Exactly. Now, let's go."

After an unusually quick search, the trio found a barber shop just down the street from the bookstore and across from a café that Warren and Charlotte occupied while Niko lost nearly a pound in weight from his hair. As the barber struggled to get around it all, Niko watched his brown locks fall to the floor in large clumps, almost feeling sad about losing it. Charlotte was right, though—he needed to look a little nicer, even though Niko was generally not the type of person to care too much about how he looked. In fact, he still wore the same pairs of jeans that he owned when he went on a journey in Kanto. For years he had worn the same maroon hooded sweater that he put over a plain t-shirt, and still did to that day.

Part of him believe that, if he ever did become a Pokémon Master—or at least win a Pokémon League—then he'd have to upgrade his appearance a little. He believed this was where Charlotte was going with her demands for him to get a haircut—if he wanted to be a winner, he might as well look somewhat presentable.

The haircut took nearly an hour, and by the time he had finished, he hardly recognized himself. "Thanks…I, err, appreciate it."

"No problem. Please thank your friend for me," his barber—a short, bald, thick-mustached man said. "You _really_ needed this."

"I'm quickly coming to that conclusion," Niko said, leaving a generous tip as he left the barbershop only to run into two familiar, and very shocked, faces.

"I've seen you with hair that short only once—when you first arrived on my doorstep," Warren said.

"You look _much_ better," Charlotte said with uncharacteristically smug satisfaction.

"Thanks. From the barber and from me," Niko said, patting Charlotte's shoulder and smirking. "So…now what?"

"I kind of want to check out the boutique here," Charlotte added, looking down at her own clothes—a worn out zip-up jacket and jeans. "I'm in need of some new clothes, and Lumiose City has way too many options when it comes to clothing options."

Shrugging, Niko and Warren decided to follow Charlotte to their next destination, not thinking of anything else to do as far as tourism was concerned. The boutique was small, but filled with different clothing in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, colors, and patterns. While Charlotte spent some time perusing the different racks of clothing with two of her Pokémon, Smeargle and Fennekin, Niko and Warren looked around mindlessly, only casually observing the clothing that was largely catered to females.

"You know, there is a male's section, too," Charlotte said matter-of-factly, pointing to a collection of male shirts, pants, and hats in the back of the boutique.

"Oh…" Niko said, feeling a little embarrassed. "Thanks, Charlotte."

The two boys spent some time perusing the clothes while Charlotte was purchasing a small felt hat and a new sky blue patterned shirt. By the time they had left, Niko had bought a thin jacket and Warren got a shirt with a train on it, and the small group were ready to continue with their day.

* * *

While they were walking down the street towards a restaurant for lunch, they stumbled upon what looked like a schoolhouse, with children getting released from class. The trio watched a horse of children and their Pokémon running around the playground, eager to continue with whatever fantasies and games that they had conjured up. Off to the side, though, Niko recognized a familiar face standing next to an equally tall woman with tied back brown hair and thick-rimmed glasses. The person Niko recognized, however, was a dirty-blonde-haired young adult with trendy-looking clothes on and, unexpectedly, a pair of thin-rimmed glasses himself.

"Ian?" Niko muttered to himself. When Charlotte and Warren turned to him with curiosity, Niko enter the school to approach his old friend and rival. "Hey, Ian?"

"Woah…" the man named Ian said with awe. "Niko!"

The two embraced quickly before exchanging further greetings. "What're you doing in Kalos?" Niko finally asked.

"I could ask you the same thing. But actually, I'm here with my older sister, Hilary. She's a schoolteacher here," he said, motioning to the older, and more feminine, version of himself. Hilary and Niko exchanged greetings before Ian continued. "So…my turn—what're you doing here? Also…where's the usual gang?"

"I'm here for the gym challenge and to learn more about mega evolution, actually," Niko explained. "As for the others, they're off doing their own thing. JJ is planning on opening up a daycare business, and Brittany is probably performing in contests somewhere."

"So, nothing surprising. What about Lauren, though?"

"Oh, Lauren…I haven't talked to her since a little after the Sinnoh League. I think she's a Frontier Brain now," Niko said, unsure of how exactly to talk about it. Lauren was one person that he, admittedly, didn't think about as often as he used to.

"Frontier Brain, eh? Makes sense…she's a tough one. I'd know!" Ian said with a hearty chuckle. "So, if the others aren't with you, who're these two?"

"Ian, this is Warren, and Charlotte. I met them in the Unova region. Guys, this is my friend Ian. He was a friend—and I guess a rival, too—when I was in Sinnoh."

The three shook hands and exchanged pleasantries for a moment before Ian turned his attention back to Niko. "So mega evolution, eh? I've been getting interested in that recently, too."

"You have?" Niko wondered.

"Yup! Garchomp and I have been practicing it. It seems easy enough."

"I wouldn't know—haven't obtained a mega stone yet."

"Well, that's not necessarily a bad thing. But it helps to have an understanding of it, I think, which you do," Ian explained. "And you said you're challenging the gyms? How's that going?"

"So good so far. I don't have any badges," Niko deadpanned.

"Hah! I take it that's why you're here in Santalune City, then?" Ian asked, and both Charlotte and Niko nodded. "Well, I wish you the best of luck, then. I didn't think about taking the gym challenge, but I guess if you're doing it, then I definitely have to!"

"Oh? Guess our rivalry is back on, then!" Niko said. Charlotte and Warren noticed a fire in his eyes as he said it.

"Then what would a proper rival do without a few battles?" Ian suggested. "You up for it?"

"Sure! One-on-one?" Niko asked. When Ian nodded, they both walked over to the school's practice battlefield. Hilary gathered her students around to join Warren and Charlotte in watching the match between her brother and their friend.

"Niko, you know how much I like dragons, right?" Ian asked. "Take a load of this. Goomy, I choose you!" He shouted, summoning a light purple, vaguely slug-like pile of goo. The top half of its body was a lighter purple than its bottom half, and the two halves were separated by a squiggly, dark purple outline decorated with five green dots. It had beady eyes, and two rows of two horn-like structures on top of its head.

" _Goomy, the Soft Tissue Pokémon. Dragon type. The weakest Dragon-type Pokémon, it lives in damp, shady places, so its body doesn't dry out,_ " Charlotte's pokédex read.

"Fletchling, I choose you!" Niko shouted, summoning the Tiny Robin Pokémon. "Use peck!"

"Bide!" Ian shouted. The Soft Tissue Pokémon emitted a thin, translucent aura around itself as Fletchling dove down and pecked at it. However, the attack rolled right off of Goomy, and Fletchling felt itself collapse onto the ground, face first.

"Fletchling, get back up and use quick attack!" Niko called out, hoping to defeat Goomy quickly. Fletchling continued to barrage her opponent with attacks, with the Soft Tissue Pokémon beginning to look exhausted. "Now, let's finish it off with peck!" He shouted.

The Tiny Robin Pokémon rose high into the air once again before diving down at Goomy. Once Fletchling got within striking distance, Goomy's entire body started to glow red and a white beam fired from its mouth, engulfing Fletchling and launching it high into the air, far above Niko and the students. Moments later, Fletchling reappeared above them as she quickly descended to the ground in defeat. Niko returned her to her pokéball just as she was about to hit the ground.

"Wow," Niko simply said as he walked over to Ian amid applause and cheers from the students. "Well done."

"Thanks. Goomy is still pretty young, but I like that move and want to keep practicing it," Ian said, looking down at Goomy, who was nuzzling against his leg.

"It's certainly a loving Pokémon. Where'd you get it?" Niko wondered.

"Just north of Lumiose City. It rains there a lot, and Goomy loves rain a lot. Keeps his skin from drying up, y'know?"

"I get it. Thanks for the battle, Goomy!" Niko said, just as the Soft Tissue Pokémon approached Niko and began nuzzling his leg as well, covering it in a thin goop. "Oh, great…" Niko muttered.

"Good thing we just went shopping!" Charlotte added as she approached her friend.

"You get used to it after a while," Ian said as he looked at Goomy affectionately. "Anyway Niko, I'm off to watch my sister's class now—school's back in session. If you're still around, maybe we can meet up again. If not, best of luck against the gym leader!"

"Thanks Ian! Nice seeing you again, too!" Niko said as his friends began walking towards the school's gate without him.

* * *

Charlotte sat on her bed, flanked by Smeargle and Fennekin on the bed, Deerling and Larvitar on the floor, and Frillish floating through the air. She opened her new book and tried reading, but instead spent an inordinate amount of time staring at the first page.

"Charlotte?" Niko asked from his own bed across the room. They were the only ones awake by that time—all of Charlotte's Pokémon had fallen asleep, as did Warren.

"What's up, Niko?" She asked, snapping herself out of her trance-like state.

"You've been staring at that same page for like, half an hour."

"Oh, sorry. Just have a lot on my mind, I guess," Charlotte admitted, closing her book and putting it away in her bag.

"What's on your mind?" Niko wondered. Although, he felt like he knew the answer already.

"Niko…" Charlotte began after a hesitation. "What was your first gym battle like?"

"My first gym battle?" Niko repeated, looking up at the ceiling before responding. "Well, it was against Brock Jr. of the Pewter City Gym. I had only one Pokémon at the time—my Bulbasaur, and we had just barely gotten to know each other. Brock used rock types, and so I was at a natural advantage, but he used his most powerful Pokémon—Onix—against me. I eventually won by using Bulbasaur's vine whip to swing him around the rocks to create enough momentum and fling him up onto Onix's head. That's where he managed to defeat Onix.

"This is all so long ago, though, that I might have gotten some details wrong, but that was essentially it."

"You said you felt nervous, right? How'd you get over that?"

"I just went into the battle, and when it was just Bulbasaur and I on that battlefield, I forgot about everything else. It's kind of like tunnel vision, battles are."

"I know what you mean, but I—"

"You are nervous and don't know how to deal with it. I getcha," Niko was now beside Charlotte on her bed. "You're going to be just fine, Charlotte. I believe it."

"I know I will."

"Then you have to keep telling yourself that you will. And never show a lack of confidence around your Pokémon, because then they'll feel it too. In some ways, you're a leader to them. If they see you getting nervous, they most likely will too. Trust me on that one."

"I'll keep that in mind. Thanks, Niko," Charlotte said, leaning over to hug her friend. He returned it, resting his head on top of hers. She felt warm.

"No problem. We're in this together, you know."

"I know that. But you're so much more experience than I am."

"That doesn't matter much when I'm using a Pokémon I just caught and one that barely listens to me," Niko muttered. "If anything, I'll have the more difficult time tomorrow."

"It won't matter if we both win," Charlotte said as they let go.

"That's very true!" Niko said, happy to hear Charlotte sounding more confident. "Anyway, I have to get to bed, as do you!" He walked back over to his bed and lay down in it. "Goodnight, Charlotte."

"Goodnight, Niko," the brunette said as she turned out her light at the same time Niko turned his out.


	5. A first time for everything

**Episode 5: A first time for everything**

"Fennekin, ember!" Charlotte commanded loudly. The fox Pokémon opened her mouth and spit out a series of small flames into the air where they quickly dissipated. "It's alright, let's just keep going!" she continued, watching Fennekin continually fire off small embers at an undefined target.

Charlotte had gotten up early that morning to train for her first Kalos gym battle—and first gym battle ever. Nervous, she wanted to know for certain that her Pokémon could handle whatever type specialty was thrown at her, which is why she spent so much time trying to get her five Pokémon to work on each of their moves. Larvitar was the only Pokémon Charlotte didn't want to use—he had been born only two days prior, and wasn't quite ready for a gym battle yet. The other four were, and have been training for this moment since Charlotte decided over the summer that she wanted to pursue this.

After what ended up being a two-hour training session, she finally noticed Niko and Warren standing near the door, watching with gusto. Stopping to return her Pokémon, she gave a look of exhaustion before smiling.

"Niko, this isn't easy already," she admitted.

"You get used to it. C'mon, let's eat before we head over to the gym," Niko said, leading the way back into the Pokémon Center. "How're you feeling?"

"Better. I just wish I knew what type the gym leader uses," she said before suddenly lighting up with inspiration. "Wait!" she hurried back to their room and returned minutes later with her Kalos guide book, eagerly flipping through it while they walked to a booth. "Oh! Viola uses bug type Pokémon!"

"Bug types…?" Niko repeated, wondering the last time he encountered a bug type specialist. "Aaron of the Elite 4…and Bugsy," he said to himself. "Alright, that should be fun, I think."

"That means I should probably use Fennekin and Smeargle. I'd use Larvitar, but he isn't ready," Charlotte said as she closed the book.

"Fletchling will have to carry most of the weight here," Niko commented. "Glad she has the advantage at least."

The conversation over strategy continued until the three trainers arrived at the Santalune City Gym, which was in the northern part of the city. It was a tall, single-story green brick building with tall glass windows running along the front. The front door bore a large curved, green awning over it. Once they were inside, they noticed a small gallery of photographs lining the walls, mostly of bug Pokémon.

Niko cringed for a moment at the sight of spinarak and ariados, two Pokémon he didn't appreciate very much. "Eugh…" he said.

"Don't like spiders?"

"Not at all. That was clear when I thought about the possibility of meeting joltik and galvantula in Unova."

Niko looked away from the close-up photos of the spider Pokémon and looked ahead towards a door with a large pokéball on it. Just as Niko noticed it, the door opened and a tall woman with dark green hair, a tight red and black shirt, and light gray pants walked out. A small, yellow, lizard-like Pokémon sat on her shoulder as she exited what looked like a forest within the building.

"Oh? Sorry if I was keeping you waiting," she said apologetically. "I lose track of time when I'm with my sister."

"We just got here, actually," Niko replied, "so don't worry about it."

"Are you here to challenge Viola?" the woman asked. When Niko and Charlotte both nodded, she raised an eyebrow. "Both of you? Hmm, my sister has her work cut out for her, then," she walked back into the other room, yelled something, and moments later saw a shorter, dark-green haired woman with a camera slung around her neck walk into the gallery.

"Hi! My sister Alexa told me I have some challengers!" she approached the trio before shaking their hands. "Viola's the name, photography's my game!"

"Niko, from Pallet Town."

"Charlotte, from Castelia City."

"Ah, two foreigners. Excellent! I always love battling trainers from other regions! Come, let's get started! My Pokémon have been itching for a battle for some time now!"

Viola motioned for the three to follow her into the large room that she and Alexa had come from. The gym was covered in trees that all sat under a massive skylight covering the entirety of the gym's ceiling. The actually battlefield, however, was a common dirt field sectioned off on all sides by a short, concrete wall. Viola opened up her arms wide as she turned to Niko and Charlotte, while Warren stood on the other side of the wall to watch.

"So! Who would like to challenge me for my gym badge first?" She asked, peering at each trainer.

Niko and Charlotte turned to each other before simultaneously saying "I can go first! No, are you sure?" which elicited a laugh from Viola.

"Fine, I'll choose then!" She said, pointing to Niko. "Let's go. Two-on-two battle sound good to you?"

"Yep," Niko said before taking his place on one end of the field, and Viola on the other, while Charlotte stood next to Warren, feeling more nervous than usual.

Alexa, acting as referee, stood in the middle of the field and explained the rules of the match, which Niko was used to hearing at this point. Once she finished, Viola opened up a pokéball, threw it, and summoning a surskit.

"Let's go, Chespin!" Niko shouted, summoning the rebellious Spiny Nut Pokémon. "Use vine whip!"

"Surskit, bubble!" Viola commanded, believing that she would have to deflect vicious green vines. Instead, she watched as her opponent's Pokémon lay down on the ground and fell asleep. "Uh…alright, then. Surskit, quick attack!"

The Pond Skater Pokémon charged forward, gracefully gliding across the dirt battlefield towards its opponent, eventually impacting Chespin and knocking him backwards. Viola ordered a second quick attack that also managed to successfully land. She repeated this several times before Niko noticed the spikes on Chespin's head twitch a little.

"CHES!" Chespin shouted, releasing his two green vines from his neck, quickly wrapping them around Surskit and throwing it to the side of the battlefield. Chespin stood up, clearly angry, and charged at Surskit, wildly whipping his vines around.

"Surskit, water sport!" Viola commanded, and her Pokémon sprayed water in Chespin's face to slow him down while the Pond Skater Pokémon slid around to the side and crashed into its opponent with quick attack. Chespin crumbled to the side before getting back up, eyes burning with rage. Chespin threw a few more successful vine whips at Surskit before running in for a tackle. "Dodge, and quick attack!" Viola shouted. The Pond Skater phased to the left, causing Chespin to stumble forward, and then moved around and thrusted its body into the Spiny Nut Pokémon, causing him to roll around in the dirt before collapsing in defeat.

"Chespin is unable to battle, Surskit is the winner!" Alexa declared. "Challenger Niko will send out his second Pokémon!"

"Chespin, return," Niko simply said, exchanging for his only other viable option. "Fletchling, I choose you!"

"Surskit, bubble!" Viola commanded. The tiny bug type fired off small bubbles at its opponent, who quickly shifted out of the way of the attacks and struck Surskit with a peck attack, knocking it backwards across the field. "Quick attack!"

"Fletchling, retaliate with quick attack as well!" Niko shouted. The two Pokémon collided in the middle of the field before repelling off of one another in opposite directions. Fletchling fluttered in the air, reorienting herself while Surskit struggled to stay on its feet. "Finish it off with peck!" Niko called out. The Tiny Robin Pokémon shot down from the sky towards her opponent, crashing into Surskit and dragging it across the field before arcing back upwards into the air.

"Surskit is unable to battle, Fletchling is the winner!" Alexa declared. "Leader Viola will now send out her second Pokémon!"

"Surskit, return. Well done. Vivillon, I choose you!" She shouted, summoning a butterfly-like Pokémon with pink and gray wings. Its thorax was an elliptical shape divided into three segments, each with a different shade of gray. Its legs are also elliptical, and black on the lower half while gray-ish on the upper half. It had two black, circular hands and no visible arms. It had a round, gray-ish head with large, black, pixelated eyes and a pair of skinny antenna. As it fluttered its wings, little specks of pink dust fell off.

" _Vivillon, the Scale Pokémon. Bug and flying type. Vivillon with many different patterns are found all over the world. These patterns are affected by the climate of their habitat_ ," Charlotte's pokédex read. She looked on at the larger butterfly, wondering if Niko and Fletchling could overcome this one.

"Psybeam!" Viola commanded.

"Fletchling, dodge and use quick attack!" Niko shouted. With surprising speed, the Tiny Robin Pokémon moved out of the way of the psychic energy beam before shooting through the air like a jet, slamming into Vivillon and causing it to flip through the air. "Now, peck!"

"Gust!" Viola shouted. Vivillon, after regaining its balance, aggressively flapped its wings, creating a powerful wind that managed to catch Fletchling, tossing and turning her around through the air. "Psybeam!"

Vivillon then shot a burst of psychic energy at Fletchling, forcing it out of the gust and hurtling towards the ground.

"Quick attack!" Niko called out. Hearing this, Fletchling opened her eyes, re-oriented herself, and glided across the ground before rocketing upwards towards her opponent, colliding with Vivillon and causing both of them to descend towards the ground. "Peck!" Niko continued, watching the Tiny Robin Pokémon strike at her opponent relentlessly. Both crashed into the ground at roughly the same time, causing a cloud of dirt to kick up. Once it dissipated, Fletchling was struggling to get back up, but Vivillon seemed just fine.

Niko bit his finger. _So close…_ he thought to himself.

"Vivillon, psybeam!"

"Fletchling, dodge and use quick attack!" Niko shouted, but instead watched Fletchling take the hit and get launched backwards towards him. "Fletchling!"

"Fletchling…" Charlotte and Warren both said with expressions of concern. "You can do it!" Charlotte shouted out, just as the Tiny Robin Pokémon collapsed onto the ground, yet still somehow in the battle.

"Fletchling, c'mon…" Niko said. "We're all counting on you here. Me, and Charlotte, and Warren, and Larvitar, and everyone…you can win this. _We_ can win this."

The flying type slowly got back up, staring directly at Vivillon. She then rose a foot into the air before gliding across the field, a white streak of light erupting behind her. Confused at first, Niko realized this must've been a new move.

"Go, Fletchling! Use quick attack!" Niko shouted. With her newfound speed, Fletchling shot at Vivillon, colliding with its right wing and causing it to spin out of control. "Now, finish it off with peck!" he commanded. Fletchling made a sharp U-turn before jetting back towards Vivillon, who after spinning managed to be facing its opponent again. Fletchling's beak started to glow a bright white color as she struck Vivillon, knocking it to the ground with incredible force.

"Vivillon is unable to battle, Fletchling is the winner! And the victory goes to Niko from Pallet Town!" Alexa declared, raising an arm in Niko's direction.

"Yes!" Charlotte and Warren shouted.

"We did it!" Niko yelled as he ran towards an exhausted Fletchling. "You did great today! I'm so proud of you!" Niko then turned to see Charlotte, who was leaving Warren to replace him. Meanwhile, Viola walked out of the battlefield room, presumably to heal up her Pokémon for the next battle. "Good luck, buddy."

"Thanks, Niko," Charlotte said, watching as he made his way to where Warren was standing. She then turned to face her first ever official opponent—Viola. Now knowing exactly what she was going to use, Charlotte pulled out a pokéball, ready to start.

"I hope you're ready, Charlotte," Viola said as she returned, holding a pokéball in hand. "I certainly won't be going easy on you."

"I know you won't. I can do this," Charlotte muttered as Alexa finished explaining the official rules a second times. "Smeargle, I choose you!"

"Surskit, you're up!" Viola shouted, summoning for a second time the Pond Skater Pokémon. "Use bubble!"

"Smeargle, hex!" Charlotte commanded. The Painter Pokémon conjured a purple and black ball of energy and shot it at Surskit, who skated away from the attack whilst continuing to fire off bubbles. _This isn't going as well as I had hoped…Smeargle only knows two moves…_ Charlotte said, suddenly worrying about her chances. _No! I have to remain confident, like Niko did._ "Hex again!"

"Surskit, quick attack!" Viola shouted. Just as the Pond Skater Pokémon charged forth to successfully strike at Smeargle, Charlotte got an idea. "Now, bubble!"

"Hex again!" Charlotte shouted. _Not the right time…_

"Use signal beam!" Viola commanded. Once more Smeargle blocked it, but with ember this time. Charlotte grit her teeth—Viola didn't seem to be giving her a chance.

"Smeargle, create space!" she said. Smeargle hopped backwards a few paces, just as Viola commanded Surskit to once more use quick attack. "Now, sketch!"

Smeargle threw around her tail-brush just as she got hit by the quick attack, which sent her flying backwards. Nevertheless, she managed to regain her footing before using quick attack herself on Charlotte's orders.

"Hex!" Charlotte shouted. Just as Smeargle came up upon Surskit, she conjured another black and purple sphere and released it at close range. As the attack was ghost type, it only affected Surskit, who was rocketed backwards, landing just feet from its trainer.

"Surskit is unable to battle, Smeargle is the winner! Leader Viola will send out her second Pokémon!"

"Surskit, return. Well done. Vivillon, you're up!"

"Smeargle, want to keep going?" Charlotte asked. The Painter Pokémon turned to her trainer and nodded, eliciting a smile from the brunette. "Alright, then. Let's keep it up! Use ember!"

"Gust!" Viola shouted. Vivillon whipped up a powerful wind that caused the ember to explode in the middle of the field. "Now, psybeam!"

"Hex!" Charlotte called out. From her tail, Smeargle conjured another hex attack, throwing it through the air and forcing it into the psybeam as a defensive measure. "Now, ember again!"

"Vivillon, move forward and use sticky web!" Viola commanded. From its mouth, the Scale Pokémon conjured small pink globs that created small spider webs wherever they landed. Vivillon shot them until Smeargle got hit, forcing the Painter Pokémon to the ground.

"Smeargle!"

"Psybeam!" Viola shouted. Once more, the Scale Pokémon barraged its opponent with psychic energy. Smeargle, unable to move from the stick substance, lay her head back on the ground in defeat, unable to move.

"Smeargle is unable to battle, Vivillon is the winner!" Alexa declared. "Charlotte will now use her second and final Pokémon!"

"Smeargle, return. You did really great, get some rest. Fennekin, I choose you!" she shouted, thrusting a pokéball into the air which, once opened, revealed the Fox Pokémon. "Use ember!"

"Vivillon, sticky web!" Viola commanded. The Scale Pokémon shot forth several more sticky globs at its new opponent, only for Fennekin to agilely dodge each one and fire off a few embers to deflect the rest. "Psybeam!"

"Roll to the side! Use ember again!" Charlotte shouted, realizing this was Fennekin's only effective move. _Should have used someone with more experience…_ she thought. "Ember!"

"Gust!" Viola commanded, causing the small fireballs to burst in midair. "Now, sticky web!"

This time, Vivillon managed to strike Fennekin with the sticky web, forcing the Fox Pokémon into the ground, just like Smeargle before her. Vivillon lined up in the air above Fennekin, aiming to finally land a move on the Fox Pokémon who was unable to move.

"Psybeam!" Viola shouted. The energy beam successfully hit Fennekin, forcing her to yelp out. Vivillon struck a second time, and a third. Charlotte watched nervously as her Pokémon took hit after hit. Soon enough, it would be over.

Then an idea popped into her head, seemingly out of nowhere. "Fennekin, ember on yourself!" She shouted. The Fox Pokémon, thoroughly confused, tested out the attack by spitting fire onto her belly, and watched as the sticky substance began to dissolve from the heat.

"What!?" Viola shouted with surprise. "V-Vivillon, use sticky web!"

"Fennekin, ember!" Charlotte shouted. "And again! Again!" Fennekin lit up the area around her, gradually freeing herself from the sticky web. She got hit a second time, but managed to escape from that one as well. Suddenly, her body lit up in a bright orange aura. "What the…?"

"Blaze…" Niko muttered, recognizing the fire type's natural ability. "Charlotte, keep using ember!"

Charlotte turned to Niko and nodded fiercely. "You heard him, Fennekin! Use ember!"

Fennekin cried out to the heavens as she spat out orange-hot fireballs at Vivillon, barraging the Scale Pokémon with flames. She kept at it, refusing to give up, and deflecting each and every attack Vivillon threw at her.

"Now jump! Use scratch!" Charlotte shouted, unsure of how high Fennekin could actually jump. Her Pokémon corrected her by using ember once more, hitting Vivillon directly in the thorax and causing the bug type to fall towards the ground. Fennekin met her opponent in midair and, her tiny claws retracting, slashed at Vivillon with ferocity, dunking the Scale Pokémon into the dirt battlefield.

"Vivillon is unable to battle, Fennekin is the winner! The victory goes to Charlotte from Castelia City!" Alexa declared.

Charlotte blinked in disbelief, only realizing it when an exhausted Fennekin leapt into her arms and licked her face. She felt the arm, fiery tongue briefly rubbing against her cheek. She laughed, finally coming to her senses.

"We did it, Fennekin."

"You did!" Niko said, slapping Charlotte on the back. "Well done, Fennekin!"

"Fen!" the Fox Pokémon shouted with joy.

"Niko, Charlotte," Viola said as she approached the two victorious trainers. "You both produced for me an excellent snapshot of your battling skills. Because of that, I can confidently award you both the Bug Badge," she pulled out two small, forest-green badges in the shapes of beetles. They both took the badges, turned to each other, and clasped their spare hands together.

"We did it."

"Yeah we did!" Niko said happily. "Thanks for the battle, Viola. This was Charlotte's first ever gym battle, actually."

"Oh? Well, you did excellent for a first-timer!" Viola said, looking impressed with her most recent challenger.

"Thanks, I learned a lot from my friends, though," Charlotte replied, albeit nervously.

The trio left Viola, Alexa, and the Santalune City Gym just as the sun was at its peak in the sky. Niko took a deep breath, taking in the crisp fall air. One gym battle down, seven more to go. Hopefully those would be easier than the first. Charlotte, on the other hand, felt a fresh wave of confidence as she took in the fall air. She had performed far better than she thought, and secretly had Niko to thank for it.


	6. Testing a theory

**Episode 6: Testing a theory**

"Where we going next?" Warren asked as he put his palms down on the table in front of him. Charlotte and Niko, both sitting on the opposite end, shrugged in response. "Okay…that doesn't help."

"The nearest gym would probably be Lumiose City," Charlotte finally replied. "But Professor Sycamore said we should wait until we have four gym badges first," she pulled out her guide book and flipped to the map. "So…we're here. Lumiose City is there…where would be the gym to go to…"

"It looks like most towns and cities are connected to Lumiose anyways, we could just go back there and ask Professor Sycamore for suggestions," Niko suggested.

"That works for me. Warren?"

"I like that idea. And it won't take too long to get back there if we hurry. Even if we don't, it's only a couple of days, right?"

Warren was right—the trip to Lumiose City didn't take as long as they had originally thought. Although, it was more enjoyable on the trip back. During that time, Charlotte continued her training, using Smeargle's new quick attack move to help her other Pokémon with their speed training. Deerling—now an orange-colored Pokémon to match the season at the time—excelled at this speed training the most, with Fennekin closely behind. It was Larvitar, understandably enough, that had the most difficulty with any sort of training. However, Charlotte saw in the Rock Skin Pokémon a unique determination to make something of himself. It was likely, she surmised, that this ambition came from the discovery of the supposed mega stone.

Niko, on the other hand, had difficulty with his own training. For starters, he was confident in Fletchling's ability to fight at this point. It was Chespin, as usual, that seemed to cause him problems. Although less so, since it was during their battle with Viola that Chespin lost—and lost badly—to a Surskit. The Spiny Nut Pokémon, over the following couple of days, didn't seem to take the loss well, and would lash out in anger against some of the other Pokémon around him, specifically Charlotte's Fennekin (whom he had known for some time prior to joining Niko). Nevertheless, Niko tried to work with Chespin, knowing that the loss to Surskit seemed to light a fire under his grass type to try and get stronger through training.

Warren would occasionally help out with his friend's training, as he had made clear on their first venture through route 4. It allowed his Poliwhirl, Leavanny, and Pidove to get some training in as well. Poliwhirl was beginning to learn a move called ice punch, which seemed like a spontaneous move to learn, since there were no ice types on the team. These battles also further developed Leavanny's role as a nurse, since she would help patch up the Pokémon if they suffered from injuries, albeit usually small ones.

When he wasn't training with his friends, Warren got back into the habit of writing, now chronicling their adventures in Kalos. He began from the start and worked his way through the short timeline of events since. On most of their nights on the way to Lumiose City, Niko found him up late by the campfire, writing carefully and gracefully in the booklet he bought in Vertress City.

It made Niko wonder if there was something missing in Warren's life. But surely being a writer and travelling couldn't be all that he wanted to do. Niko didn't act on these thoughts, and preferred to let them percolate in his mind alongside the other things he thought about—mega evolution, Chespin, and his gym challenge.

The day before reaching Lumiose City, Niko and his friends arrived upon a small town on the edge of the forest. It was clear that the town was small, since it was enough to surround a rather large, ovular track. Curious, the three walked into the town and towards the track.

"Welcome to the annual Odyssey Village Rhyhorn Race!" a young man announced on the microphone.

While he was explaining the rules of the race, Niko and his friends watched with curiosity. There were people _riding_ the rhyhorn—something Niko didn't think was possible. However, he seemed to thoroughly enjoy it—the riders came off as very skilled in their sport, and it ended up being a close race regardless. After watching it with gusto, the trio continued on their journey.

"Do you think you'd ever ride a rhyhorn like that?" Warren asked as they left Odyssey Village.

"Absolutely not. I don't think I'd even fit on one," Charlotte replied.

"I think it'd probably upset my stomach, actually," Niko commented. "I'd probably give it a try once, but not sure if it's something I'd ever want to do professionally."

"We should give it a go next time we see one," Warren said, nudging Niko in the shoulder. "Could be fun!"

"I suppose so," Niko said, giving Charlotte an expression that mixed amusement and nervousness.

The trio finally arrived in Lumiose City three days after leaving Santalune, and got into the city at nighttime, just as the lights flooded the circular-shaped Kalos metropolis. The three trainers eventually found the Pokémon Center once again, electing to get to sleep as soon as they could. The following morning, they planned to visit Professor Sycamore and further inquire about mega evolution.

* * *

After spending some time training with their Pokémon Niko, Charlotte, and Warren took a taxi across town to Professor Sycamore's laboratory. Once more, they were regaled in conversation by the driver, this time about a famous Kalos actor named Diantha.

"Oh, she is absolutely beautiful. And smart, too! Very talented," the driver said.

"Never heard of her," Niko said. "We're not exactly from here."

"You must check out her work sometime, then! If you're interested in battling, she's also very good at that!"

"Really now? Is she a gym leader?" Niko asked.

"No, former Kalos Champion!"

" _Champion?_ " Niko said, appalled.

"Yeah! Powerful trainer, Diantha is. She was Champion for a long time, nearly a decade, before she was defeated by some blonde trainer. I forget her name…" the driver said, clearly trying to recall a memory. "Anyway, if you ever get a chance to watch her battle, I highly recommend it!"

"Thanks, sir," Niko said as they exited the taxi. "And thanks for the ride!"

"Anytime kids, have a good day!"

Niko, Warren, and Charlotte turned to see the familiar-looking lab sitting in front of them. As they were walking up, Charlotte fingered the small marble sitting in her jacket pocket, hoping that it was the mega stone that they believed it to be. If so, then she needed to up the ante with regards to training her Larvitar.

Warren opened the door to lead the way in. As they did, they noticed Professor Sycamore talking at the bottom of the main staircase with a woman just a few inches shorter than him—just barely shorter than Niko. She had short, brown hair and wore entirely white clothing—white shirt, shorts, and a thin coat—with gold bands around her waist and wrists. A handbag was in her right hand, and she wore a necklace with a small pale pink-colored marble.

 _A mega stone…_ Niko thought to himself, recognizing the necklace.

"Oh, Niko! Charlotte! And…Warren?" Sycamore said as he interrupted his conversation with the woman to greet his other visitors. "What brings you here today?"

"We have a few questions, actually. But if we're interrupting—" Charlotte said, turning to the woman in white.

"No! Not at all! Diantha here was on her way out, actually," Sycamore said, turning to the woman and smiling. She nodded curtly.

" _Diantha_!?" Niko said with as much surprise as he did in the taxi. "The Champion of the Kalos League?"

"Former Champion, actually," Diantha said. "Hi, I'm Diantha. And you are…?"

"Niko, from Pallet Town," Niko replied, shaking the former Champion's hand.

"Ah, Pallet Town. I knew a trainer from there. Skilled one, too," Diantha remarked, as if also recalling a memory.

"I see you have a mega stone," Niko said, pointing to her necklace.

"Ah, yes! This is my Gardevoirite."

"Niko and his friends came to Kalos to learn more about mega evolution," Professor Sycamore explained. "Have you learned anything more since our last meeting?"

"Well, sort of," Charlotte said, reaching into her jacket pocket to pull out the pale green marble. "My egg hatched into a Larvitar, you see, and that same day we found this in a cave."

Sycamore took the marble from Charlotte and, with Diantha looking as well, examined it. "This is definitely a mega stone. I may have seen this one before, but I can't remember which one."

"It's a Tyranitarite," Diantha replied. "It can mega evolve a tyranitar. You should consider yourself lucky—these aren't common finds."

"What's weird about it is that my Larvitar sensed it," Charlotte added.

"What do you mean by that?" Sycamore asked, motioning the four of them into his study off to the right of the front room.

"Well, the evening after Larvitar hatched, we were walking to Santalune City and he just started running off in a completely different direction. We wound up at a cave entrance, and inside the cave—which was completely empty otherwise—he found this mega stone."

"So, we believe that Larvitar knew it was there somehow," Niko concluded. "Do you know anything about Pokémon being able to sense the presence of mega stones?"

"Only rumors, but no concrete evidence," Sycamore said, turning to Diantha for confirmation of this. She nodded. "I'd be interested to see something like this in action, if you don't mind."

"No problem. What would you like us to do?" Charlotte asked, already assuming she'd be a part of this experiment.

"I'm going to hide this Tyranitarite, and I want your Larvitar to seek it out," Sycamore said plainly. "Are you up for that?"

"Of course."

Sycamore then left the room with the mega stone in hand, only to come back several minutes later. "Alright, now send out Larvitar, and if our theory is correct, he should automatically sense its presence _somewhere_."

"Larvitar, come on out!" Charlotte shouted, summoning the Rock Skin Pokémon, who had clearly just woken up from a nap. "Larvitar, I want you to meet Professor Sycamore, and Diantha, who was the former Champion of the Kalos League."

Larvitar looked up at the two authority figures before shying away behind Charlotte's leg.

"It's okay, they won't hurt you. They're really nice people," Charlotte said softly, moving behind Larvitar this time.

"Hi there, Larvitar," Sycamore said, reaching into a nearby drawer and pulling out a cookie from a bag. "Here, from me."

Larvitar took the cookie, looking up at Sycamore with skepticism before biting into it, suddenly feeling pleased.

"Figured he'd like it. It's made specifically for rock type Pokémon. A specialty one of my friends gave me," Sycamore said. "Now, we wait."

As he said that, Larvitar perked his head up and, still holding his cookie, turned and walked out of the room, curiously looking around the main area while eating.

Moments later, the Rock Skin Pokémon returned, cookie finished, and with a mega stone in his stubby arms. Instinctively, he walked to Charlotte and handed it to her.

"Thanks, Larvitar," Charlotte said, patting the dull spike on her Pokémon's head. "So…guess it does work."

"Think so. Obviously, I'd have to conduct more tests to see, but that can be done with other Pokémon. We want to make sure it's true across all species of Pokémon capable of mega evolution, and not just for Larvitar's evolution line."

"We could test it on my Gardevoir," Diantha suggested. Sycamore, clearly liking this plan, asked for the mega stone. Once he left the room, hid the stone, and returned, Diantha summoned her Gardevoir—a tall, green-haired humanoid Pokémon with a long, white dress. Unfamiliar with the Pokémon, Charlotte pulled out her pokédex:

" _Gardevoir, the Embrace Pokémon. Psychic and fairy type. To protect its trainer, it will expend all its psychic power to create a small black hole._ "

"So, it's a fairy type, too?" Niko wondered, as he has battled Gardevoirs before.

"Indeed. I forgot, you must not be aware of the fairy type," Sycamore said, just as Gardevoir seemed to sense something and gracefully walked out of the room in search of the mega stone.

"No, I'm not. I fought one in the Unova League, actually. It was called…klefki, I think."

"Ah, klefki. An odd fairy type, since it's naturally immune to one of the fairy type's weaknesses. The fairy type—discovered here in Kalos—is strong against fighting, dark, and dragon types. It's also immune to dragon types. However, it's vulnerable to steel and poison."

"That must be why your Druddigon was defeated so quickly," Warren proposed.

"Yeah, learned that one the hard way," Niko said with a chuckle. "But that helps to know. Thanks, professor."

"No problem, Niko," Sycamore said as Gardevoir returned, confusedly holding Diantha's necklace.

"Thank you, Gardevoir. We were conducting an experiment. Turns out, it works on you as well," Diantha explained. Her Pokémon nodded, seeming to understand this. "Anyways, Augustine, I must get going. We have a shoot in Snowbelle City that I have to get ready for."

"Thanks for the chat, as always," Sycamore said, embracing the former Champion. "Please stop by anytime."

"Will do. Niko, Charlotte, Warren, it was a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise," Niko said watching Diantha leave the study and proceed out of the front door.

"Is there anything else that I can do for you three, now that we've figured out what your discovery was?" Sycamore asked, placing his hands in his pockets.

"Actually, one question," Warren said, turning to the professor. "We don't really know where to go for their next gym battle. You suggested we wait on this city's gym, so where would be a logical place to continue?"

"Hmm…" Sycamore said, placing a finger on his chin. "Laverre and Coumarine City are the closest to here, but I generally recommend trainers travel to Cyllage City next. The gym leader there—Grant—is generally on the same skill level as Viola. It's pretty far away, I'll admit, but there are several towns between here and there that will allow you to stock up on supplies."

"Cyllage City…got it!" Niko said, turning to Charlotte for confirmation.

"Oh! Also, since you're heading to the western part of Kalos, I recommend going to Shalour City as well. Not only is there a gym there, but it's also the home to an expert on mega evolution. You might find it worth your time to take a trip there, too."

"Shalour City, alright," Niko said, reaching his hand out to shake Sycamore's. "Thank you, professor. For everything."

"Always a pleasure to help a trainer out, Niko," Sycamore said. "Hopefully you can stop by when you make your way back here for your eventual gym battle in Lumiose City."

"Charlotte and I will be ready, that's for sure!" Niko said, a fire lighting up in his eyes. His brunette friend nodded, feeling confident as well. As they left the lab, Niko turned to his friends and threw an arm around both of them. "To Cyllage City we go!"


	7. The poached Pokemon

**Episode 7: The poached Pokémon**

"Cyllage City is pretty far away," Warren said, looking at the map in Charlotte's Kalos guidebook. "We've got a long ways to go, it looks like."

"First stop looks like…Camphrier Town…?" Niko asked as they took turns looking at the map while walking down the busy streets of Lumiose City. "That looks like it'd be a couple of days away, right?"

"Yeah," Charlotte replied, taking the book, "we have enough supplies for that, right?" Niko and Warren turned to each other before nodding. "Good."

Getting to Camphrier Town required travelers to walk through route 5. Unlike route 4, this route was far less forested, and ran primarily across rivers and over hills.

Niko and Charlotte took some time to train for their upcoming gym battle in Cyllage City. Despite having more time than they usually did for training, the two trainers wanted to be as prepared as possible. Like she declared to herself in Lumiose City, Charlotte elected to start training Larvitar, while also working to improve on her other Pokémon's movesets and skills.

The Rock Skin Pokémon had a fair amount of difficulty with training, at least initially. Their first morning on route 5, Larvitar got hit by Fennekin's ember and, out of shock, bellowed out his screech attack, forcing everyone in the vicinity to cover their ears and causing flocks of pidgey and fletchling to flee the treetops around them.

"Larvitar, it's fine," Charlotte said in an attempt to console her Pokémon. "In battles, you're going to take hits. You need to prepare yourself for that," Larvitar looked at Charlotte, who was now eye-level with him, and nodded. He felt hurt, pointing to a burn mark on his arm. "Oh, let's fix you up then," Charlotte pulled out a spray bottle from Warren's bag and pressed it in front of the burn mark. Larvitar yelped quickly, but seemed to calm himself after a moment of watching the burn mark fade away. "Feel better?" she asked. Larvitar nodded. "Let's get back to it, then."

That evening, the group was sitting by a fire conjured up by Smeargle and Fennekin, as they usually did. Charlotte was sketching, Warren writing, and Niko was reading the book he got from the bookstore in Santalune City. However, he couldn't keep focus on what he was reading, and closed the book after a while.

"Niko? What's up?" Charlotte said, looking away from her sketch, this time of Larvitar.

"Nothing, why?"

"You closed your book in a, well, authoritative way, I guess."

"Just couldn't focus on it. Got other things on my mind."

"Like what?"

Niko shuffled a little before answering. "Well, I feel like I'm not doing enough to help my Pokémon improve. Fletchling has proven herself to be a very capable fighter, but I don't seem to making too much ground with Chespin," he said, shifting his eyes to look at the Spiny Nut Pokémon sleeping near the fire. "We've got a gym battle coming up. I know it'll take a while to get there, but I still feel rushed—like I'm running out of time."

"You aren't, Niko," Charlotte said, the shadows around her smile dancing in sync with the fire in front of her. "Plus, you've gotten out of tough spots before this. What makes now so different?"

"I _know_. I guess I've always had trouble with confidence."

"Well, so do I, but I got over the fear of having a gym battle. I didn't think I could win, but you helped me get through it."

"Hmm?" Niko asked, perking his head up.

"You don't believe me?"

"I don't see how I did anything. You won that badge on your own."

"You encouraged me, Niko. That's why I asked you to tell me about your first gym battle. I had known that you—with the dozens of gym battles you've competed in—that you knew a thing or two about them, and weren't nervous about taking them on. I wanted you to confirm for me that they weren't as bad as they sounded, and that I would be alright. You _did_ that."

"I guess so—"

"And when Fennekin's ability activated, you told me what it was, and that I should take advantage of it. That was _you_!" She exclaimed, catching Warren's attention now. "You're a more knowledgeable, caring trainer than you believe. I think you can get through this, and I think you can win the Kalos League."

"Even if you're competing in it?"

"Well, only if you beat me in battle to get it," Charlotte said with a smirk.

"Heh. Thanks, Charlotte," Niko said, feeling better. "It helps to talk about these things."

"It really does," Charlotte pulled up her sketchbook and continued drawing, with Fennekin watching to her left side. Niko turned to Chespin, watching the grass type sleep peacefully while he mulled over ways to get the Spiny Nut Pokémon to listen to him.

* * *

Niko woke up to Charlotte and Warren having a practice battle—Charlotte's Frillish versus Warren's Pidove.

"Frillish, water pulse!" she shouted.

"Pidove, dodge and use air cutter!" Warren commanded. The Pigeon Pokémon skillfully evaded the attack before striking at Frillish with light blue blades of air; the water pulse missed and Frillish was knocked backwards. Without needing any further guidance, Pidove unleashed another round of attacks, but they looked different from air cutter. This time it was a single blade of air that struck Frillish, knocking it into the ground. "Did…did you just learn a new move?" Warren asked, looking at Pidove. He turned and nodded proudly. "Well done."

"Frillish, you did just fine. You're still getting used to battling," Charlotte said, realizing at that moment that the Floating Pokémon hadn't really participated in an official battle before. The pink ghost type nodded, albeit feeling melancholic due to her loss. "We'll get better, I promise."

"Morning, Niko," Warren shouted as they walked back to their camp on the top of a hill. "Sleep well?"

"Eh," Niko said, making a shifty motion with his hand. "So-so."

Warren and Charlotte fixed up something to eat while Niko conducted his own training with Fletchling and, briefly, with Chespin as well. The former was a success, as usual, and the latter was a complete failure, with Chespin falling asleep midway through a practice battle with Fletchling.

Sighing, Niko walked over to his friends and ate with them. As he was mulling over new ways to train, he suddenly heard something off in the distance.

"Did you hear that?" Warren asked instinctively. "It was a cry of some sort."

"I don't recognize it. Could it be a Pokémon?" Niko wondered, standing up. "Let's go check it out. C'mon," he motioned to Charlotte and Warren.

"I'll stay here," Warren said, "You two go on ahead."

Nodding in agreement, Niko and Charlotte got up and ran off with their Pokémon returned to their pokéballs, Fletchling the exception. Niko commanded the Tiny Robin Pokémon to go on ahead and alert them if it was something serious. Hoping not, Niko kept running with Charlotte following closely behind, trying to sling her bag over her shoulders while moving faster than she ever thought she could.

Niko's hopes were crushed when Fletchling flew back to them, clearly in a panic. "Go tell Warren—somehow—that we should alert the authorities, and come straight back to me. I might need you," Niko said urgently. Fletchling nodded and sped off towards their camp. _I hope I don't have to just rely on Chespin…_ he thought to himself, and hating himself for thinking it.

Just after that, a small green goat ran in their direction nearly hitting Charlotte on accident. She attempted to move out the way while running, only to get nicked on the side by the goat's tiny horns and collapsed to the ground.

"Charlotte!" Niko shouted, running over to his friend. The goat stopped and turned around worriedly. "You alright?"

"I'm fine…but what's that…?" she asked, looking at the goat and pulling out her pokédex:

" _Skiddo, the Mount Pokémon. Grass type. Thought to be one of the first Pokémon to live in harmony with humans, it has a placid disposition_."

"What a cute little Pokémon…" she said. "Hi, skiddo, I'm Charlotte. This is Niko."

Ironically, the skiddo took a few nervous steps backwards, nearly falling over on itself. Charlotte got up and cautiously approached the skiddo, holding her hand out in a friendly manner. She tried to pet the dark green fur on its forehead, but skiddo moved back with a worried look on its face.

"Someone must've done something to make this Pokémon afraid of people," Niko said. "Skiddo, what happened?"

Skiddo didn't verbally respond; instead, it looked behind Niko and Charlotte towards a valley below them. The two trainers looked and saw a small cage with Pokémon that resembled skiddo. On the outside of the cage was a larger green goat-like Pokémon—presumably related to the skiddo—fighting a massive panda-bear Pokémon.

"Someone's trying to steal your friends or your family?" Niko said, turning back to the skiddo. It nodded, emitting a small whimpering sound. "Charlotte, we have to do something."

Sighing, she nodded. "I agree," she pulled out a pokéball. "Let's stop that man, whoever he is," she looked to skiddo, who seemed ready to book it in the other direction. "You don't have to come with us, but we're going to do whatever we can to save your friends."

Skiddo looked up at Charlotte, its black eyes gleaming. It's expression suddenly changed, and the Mount Pokémon nodded before trotting up to them.

The three approached the valley cautiously, watching the large goat fight off what looked like a Pokémon poacher and his panda-like companion. Noting that the poacher looked strong, Niko wondered aloud if they could even stop it, since his only available Pokémon was one that disobeyed him.

"We can," Charlotte whispered as they peered over from behind a pair of bushes, watching the poacher finally defeat the large goat and carry it into the cage with the skiddo. "We have to."

Just as Niko was about to hesitantly summon Chespin, Fletchling came back, landing on his right shoulder. "Alright, I'm ready, too. Fletchling, agility and quick attack!"

Fletchling shot out from her position in the bushes to strike at the panda-like Pokémon, who took notice and whacked the Tiny Robin Pokémon away with what looked like hammer arm. Confused, the poacher turned to see Niko and Charlotte leaping out of the bushes. Charlotte summoned Fennekin and commanded her to use ember, to which the panda used protect before charging at the small Fox Pokémon.

"Fletchling, peck!" Niko shouted. Fletchling got up from the ground and quickly zoomed over to the panda and struck it in the shoulder as it unsuccessfully used hammer arm. "Great job!"

"What're you kids doing here!?" the poacher asked. "Can't you see I'm busy?"

"Busy stealing Pokémon?" Niko spat back. "Why do you want those skiddo anyways?"

"Because I plan on selling them to buyers in other regions! They're only found here in Kalos!"

"Well, that's a dumb plan," Charlotte muttered aloud. "Fennekin, use scratch!"

"Not when you need the money, it isn't. Pangoro, crunch!" he shouted. The panda-like Pokémon's mouth opened wide as it contorted its head to catch Fletchling mid-quick attack. It bit down on the flying type and thrust it to the other side. Fletchling hit the side of the truck and crumbled to the ground. "Pfft, pathetic Pokémon. Why bother? You can't save these Pokémon anyways. C'mon Pangoro, let's go."

"No! You can't!" Charlotte shouted.

"But I can, and I will."

Overwhelmed with emotion, Charlotte let out a high-pitched scream, commanding Fennekin to attack with everything she had. The Fox Pokémon charged at her opponent. For a moment, Charlotte thought the little fire type was lighting up on fire. However, it dissipated quickly after, and Fennekin landed a scratch on the back of Pangoro's head before using a close-range ember attack, which seemed to bother Pangoro at best.

"Hmm? Still fighting? Hammer arm."

Pangoro's arm lit up a bright white color as it smacked Fennekin in the side of the face with it, launching her across the grass field they were in. Desperately, Charlotte summoned Deerling to attack with double kick. While it was successful, Pangoro's now-effective hammer arm quickly brought down the Season Pokémon as well.

"Fletchling, keep going!" Niko shouted, but to no avail. Fletchling was nowhere near as powerful as the Pangoro, and was getting beaten up incessantly. Meanwhile, Charlotte was in a panic—her Pokémon were quickly losing as well. And the entire time skiddo was sitting in the back, watching with fearful eyes.

Charlotte groaned a little as Fennekin was launched away by Pangoro's hammer arm. Fortunately, Deerling managed to land a leech seed that crept up around the fighting type Pokémon and sapped some of its energy before Pangoro ripped it apart. Furious, Pangoro then turned and kicked Deerling clear across the field.

"Give it up, kids!" the poacher sneered. "Stop trying to be the hero!"

"We won't let you take them!" Charlotte said. "They're the friends and family of this skiddo. You're ruining relationships!"

"Then why doesn't that skiddo come with me? I can find a better home for it!"

"No! No, you can't!" Charlotte shouted. Just then, the Pangoro charged at Charlotte angrily, in a clear attempt to stop her from shouting at its trainer further. Arm glowing white, it was about to slam a hammer arm down on Charlotte when skiddo pushed her aside and took the blow instead. "Skiddo!"

"Fletchling, quick attack!" Niko shouted. Fletchling charged at Pangoro, crashing into it and relentlessly pecking at it. Fennekin and Deerling also attacked Pangoro, bringing the Pokémon to its knees. "Fennekin, go break the gate with ember!" Niko called out, since Charlotte was preoccupied.

"Skiddo…" Charlotte said, scooting over to the injured Mount Pokémon. "You monster!"

"Monster? You attacked me first!" the poacher said. "You're the one who's going to pay!"

"GOG!" a husky voice sounded from behind him and Pangoro. The poacher slowly turned around to see the large green goat standing alongside the dozen or so captured skiddo.

" _How_ did you get out!?" the poacher cried out before noticing Fennekin trotting over to the goat's side. "YOU IDIOTS!"

"GOG!"

"SKID!"

All of the goats summoned a wave of razor-sharp green leaves at the poacher and Pangoro, defeating the latter and leaving the former with numerous cuts on his body. Just as he lay on the ground in defeat, Niko heard a vehicle blaring behind them. It was Officer Jenny, accompanied by Warren.

"Guys! Are you alright?" Warren shouted, leaping out of the vehicle and running over to his friends.

"Yeah, but Charlotte's Pokémon aren't," Niko said, turning to their brunette friend, who was doing what she could to nurse the skiddo back to health. "That skiddo took some serious damage."

Without thinking about it, Warren summoned Leavanny to help skiddo, while Officer Jenny apprehended the poacher and forced his Pangoro to return to its pokéball. "Thanks for tipping us off. We had heard rumors of a poacher around here, but no confirmed evidence. Nice to know we were able to get here in time."

"Just in time," Niko said. "Thanks."

"It was all you, Niko," Warren said.

"Nope. All Charlotte, actually. She really pulled the weight here," Niko said, turning to their friend who was helping Leavanny heal skiddo. The other skiddo and the larger goat—whom Niko identified as a Pokémon called gogoat—joined Charlotte in helping the injured skiddo get back onto its feet. It wore a bandage around its to right legs, but managed to walk well enough.

Officer Jenny took the poacher and his Pangoro away, pledging to come back for the rest later. Niko and his friends waited there as morning turned into afternoon. In the meantime, Leavanny patched up the other injured Pokémon—Fletchling, Deerling, and Fennekin.

"Thanks for saving me, skiddo," Charlotte finally said. The Mount Pokémon looked up at her and nodded, this time with a smile.

"It's got courage, that's for sure," Warren replied.

"It does…say, skiddo, would you like to join my team?" Charlotte asked. She had been thinking of it since skiddo saved her from Pangoro's hammer arm.

The Mount Pokémon's eyes widened, but with a mixture of wonder and fear. It turned to the other skiddo and the gogoat for confirmation. The skiddo cheered for it, and the gogoat—clearly the elder one in the group—nodded sagely. Skiddo then looked back at Charlotte and nodded.

"Well, just so you know what you're getting yourself into: I'm a Pokémon trainer travelling the Kalos region, battling gyms and hoping to compete in the Kalos League one day with my friend Niko. If you're up for battling and getting stronger, then you're welcome to join us."

Skiddo quickly nodded affirmatively, which made Charlotte smile.

"Alright then," she said, looking to Warren. "Could I please get a pokéball from my bag?"

Warren, who had clearly packed up their things, reached over to Charlotte's bag and tossed her an empty pokéball. Charlotte caught it, and lay it in front of skiddo. The Mount Pokémon leaned its head down, lightly touched the button in the center, and immediately went inside. The pokéball wiggled around a few times before ultimately clicking.

Charlotte took a sigh of relief. She had another companion, and another friend, join her that day. More than all of that, she felt brave. She felt like she did something good that day.


	8. New rival, new friend

**Episode 8: New rival, new friend**

"Welcome to Camphrier Town—A town where you can taste the ages!" A woman said as she handed Niko a pamphlet.

"I'd rather not…" he muttered as he pocketed the pamphlet out of earshot of the overly eager woman.

"But you like history, don't you?" Charlotte asked.

"I do, but that seems like an…odd way to advertise your town, don't you think?" Niko asked.

Camphrier Town was the first stop for the trio on their way to Cyllage City, where Niko and Charlotte would compete for their second Kalos gym badge. It was a medium-sized town resting at the bottom of a mountain with a castle at the top. To the north was another palace, but according to the pamphlet they received, it was nearly a day's walk away.

It was late in the afternoon when they made it to Camphrier Town, and elected to stay the night at Hotel Camphrier, instead of the usual Pokémon Center lodgings. It had been a while since Niko and his friends had stayed in anything other than a Pokémon Center, so they decided to try something new for a chance.

Hotel Camphrier was a quaint, two-story lodging in the southwestern part of the city. When they entered, it looked like a hotel from a previous century. The walls were plastered with odd-patterned wallpaper; the chandeliers above them were lit with lightbulbs Niko hardly recognized; and the couches and rugs were dusty and worn out.

"You can really taste the ages, I'm sure," Niko muttered as they walked in. Despite his comment, he did like the feel of it. He felt like he standing in a historical artifact.

"You really hate that phrase, don't you?" Warren asked.

"What gave you that idea?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all."

"Hi!" A man at the front desk shouted in a pleasant tone. "Welcome to Hotel Camphrier! I am the I'm the owner, doorman, concierge, server—"

"One night, please," Niko interrupted.

"Of course. One room for the three of you?" he asked. Niko nodded, and he continued. "We have up to two beds per room, will that be fine?"

"Uh…" Niko said, turning first to Charlotte and then to Warren. "Can we get like, a spare cot or something?"

"I'm afraid we don't have those…"

"What kind of hotel doesn't have a spare cot?" Charlotte demanded to know. "But, because this hotel isn't prepared for anything, I can just get a separate room, Niko."

"Are you sure?" Niko wondered, genuinely curious.

"Yes, I can take care of myself if something happens to me. After all, my Pokémon listen to me."

"Oh, that was low," Niko muttered as he paid for a two-bed room while Charlotte paid for a single-bed room, smirking all the while.

As it turned out, Charlotte spent much of the night talking with her friends in their room. Each room looked marginally neater than the lobby—the beds, at least, sported clean sheets, and the wood flooring was swept and mopped. It didn't have an aged smell to it, either, which prevented Niko from making yet another snide comment about Camphrier Town's motto.

"How much longer do you think it'll take to get to Cyllage City?" Warren asked.

"Well, after this we have to get to Ambrette Town. That'll take a week, maybe two. After that we travel up the coast and Cyllage City looks like it'll be maybe three or four more days after that," Charlotte said, looking at their map of the Kalos region.

"I've never understood how you guys guess these things…" Niko said as he lay down on his bed. "JJ did that when I travelled with him. He was usually right, which I also never understood."

"He's the Pokémon breeder, right?" Charlotte asked.

"Yeah. Now he is, at least."

"Guess we just know something you don't."

"Wouldn't be the first time," Niko replied with a smirk. "So, is there anything you two want to do tomorrow while we're still in Camphrier Town?"

"I don't think there _is_ much to do…" Charlotte said, looking at her guidebook. "Oh! There's a festival, but that's about it."

"What kind of festival?"

"Uh…a harvest festival. According to this, every year a snorlax comes to the town to clear out the roots for all of the local crops and then retreats into the mountain for the year."

"Interesting. I guess if we're around we can check it out, right?" Niko wondered.

"It's around noon anyways, so we could head off towards Ambrette Town afterwards."

"Sounds…like a plan…" Warren said as he yawned, and subsequently fell asleep.

* * *

The following morning, Niko and Charlotte elected to go to the Pokémon Center to train with their Pokémon before the Harvest Festival while Warren went off to tour the town. As they walked towards it, they noticed the Center's battlefield was already taken up.

"Froakie, double team!" A young man shouted. They watched as the small, blue amphibious Pokémon duplicated itself and shot forward to attack an undefined target. "Now water pulse!" the multiple froakies all conjured small, pulsating spheres of water and launched them at the ground, creating a small wave of water that drenched the field. "Well done."

Upon further examination, Niko recognized that trainer. He was tan-skinned with a small, black afro. He wore a beige coat with fur around the collar and denim jeans. Niko turned to Charlotte for confirmation that this wasn't the first time they saw this guy. She shook her head—they definitely saw him before.

"Hmm?" he said, looking at Niko and Charlotte, who casually looked away so as to not stare. "Do you need to use this field, too?"

"Well, not if you're using it!" Niko said in a friendly tone.

"I'm almost done, actually," he said, petting his froakie. "I've seen you before, I think…" he paused, crouched down and trying to recall a memory.

"We passed by each other at Sycamore's lab in Lumiose City," Niko said. "I was thinking the same thing."

"Right! I remember, that's right after I got Froakie. I'm Oliver," he said, walking over to Niko and shaking his head.

"Niko. And this is my friend, Charlotte."

"Hey Charlotte. So, what were you up to at Sycamore's lab?"

"We were new to the Kalos region, and decided to head there to get some questions answered," Niko explained. "I take it you were there to get your froakie?"

"Yup, technically my second Pokémon, too. How'd you guess?"

"Charlotte and I got the other two starters since they were the only ones left."

"Oh? So…you're a beginning trainer, then?"

"Neither of us are, actually," Niko said. "You?"

"Technically, yes, but I've been raising Pokémon for a while now. Decided to start fresh a couple of weeks ago. What about you both? You said you're not new to this, either."

"Niko's competed in a few Pokémon Leagues, already," Charlotte blurted out, almost automatically. She instantly regretted it when she noticed Niko turn a very pale pink.

"A few? Starting over then?"

"Y-yes," Niko admitted.

"You must be a pretty strong trainer, then. Are you both challenging the gyms here?"

"Both of us, yeah. You?"

"Yep. Only got one badge so far. Off to Cyllage to get my second. You?" Oliver asked. He seemed like a nice enough guy, from Niko's perspective.

"Same here. Already went to Santalune City."

"Hmm. Well, since we're both challenging gyms, and you're apparently a pretty experienced trainer, would you mind having a battle with me?" Oliver asked. "Say, two-on-two?"

"Two on two…? Err, sure," Niko said hesitantly.

"You don't have two Pokémon yet?"

"No! I do. I accept your challenge." Niko said, albeit hesitantly. _I'd rather not use Chespin…_ he said. Niko walked to one end of the battlefield, and Oliver stayed where he was. "Fletchling, I choose you!" he shouted.

"Froakie, let's go," Oliver said, looking down at the Pokémon he was previously training with.

" _Froakie, the Bubble Frog Pokémon. Water type. It secretes flexible bubbles from its chest and back. The bubbles reduce the damage it would otherwise take when attacked_ ," Charlotte's pokédex read.

"Fletchling, agility into quick attack!" Niko shouted.

"Froakie, double team!" Oliver commanded. The Bubble Frog Pokémon leapt forward, duplicating itself multiple times. Fletchling, confused as first, only hit the first one she saw and was dismayed that she got it wrong.

"Fletchling, don't give up!" Niko called out. "Use quick attack on each one!"

"Not so fast! Froakie, pound!" Oliver called out. Froakie leapt into the air, along with its duplicates, and each took a shot at pounding Fletchling into the ground. Fortunately, she was fast enough to evade them, swerving in and out of each pound until each one had missed, and then proceeded to use quick attack to knock out a few more of the duplicates. "Water pulse!"

"Agility!" Niko shouted. Fletchling shot backwards to dodge the water pulse before rocketing forwards again with quick attack to finally hit the real Froakie. "Now, peck!"

"Froakie, pound!" Oliver commanded. This time, his Pokémon managed to land the attack, slamming its small, blue fist into the side of Fletchling's face and send it hurtling into the ground. "Water pulse!"

"Fletchling, get back up!" Niko shouted, but it was too late. The water pulse was well on its way to landing, and successfully hit the Tiny Robin Pokémon, bursting upon contact and drenching her. "Fletchling!"

"Looks like it was defeated, Niko," Charlotte lamented.

"Dammit…" Niko muttered, far out of earshot of Oliver. "Fletchling, return. You did well. Now, let's hope we can still win this. Chespin, I choose you!"

"Oh? So that's the starter you picked at Sycamore's lab?" Oliver said, looking thoroughly impressed. "Can't wait to see what it can do. Froakie, use double team!"

"Chespin, vine whip!" Niko shouted, knowing exactly what would happen. He was right—Chespin fell asleep on the floor of the battlefield, leading to a very confused Oliver to halt his attack. "He refuses to listen to me, for whatever reason," Niko explained.

"Ah. Do you want to end the match, then?" Oliver asked in a plain tone.

"No, let's continue," Niko said. _Maybe he'll go crazy this time like he did against Viola's Surskit…_ he thought to himself.

"Alright. Froakie, pound!" Oliver commanded, watching as each of the duplicate Froakies attacked Chespin, each taking turns pounding on it. Niko noticed that the thorns on Chespin's head were twitching again, just as they did against Viola. "Now, water—"

"CHESSSSSS!" Chespin roared out, scrambling onto its feet and unleashing two green vines from his neck, whipping and slashing them around at each of the Froakie duplicates, eventually hitting the real one. Chespin then broke into a somersault and kicked the Bubble Frog backwards. Lastly, and most unexpectedly, he rolled across the field and slammed into Froakie one final time before using vine whip to finish it off.

"Woah. Niko, what was that?"

"I honestly don't know. I think your Froakie pissed him off," Niko said, genuinely curious.

"Interesting. I'll have to take note of that. Froakie, return," Oliver said, "you did a great job. But I think your teammate can handle it from here. Charmander, I choose you!" he shouted, summoning a familiar lizard-like Pokémon.

" _Charmander, the Lizard Pokémon. Fire type. The flame on its tail indicates Charmander's life force. If it is healthy, the flame burns brightly_ ," Charlotte's pokédex read.

"Uh-oh…" she said, watching a now exhausted Chespin stare down his new opponent—a fire type.

"Charmander, use ember!" Oliver commanded.

"Chespin, rollout!" Niko shouted, but to no avail. Chespin tried to dodge the attack, but he was too slow, likely due to a lack of training and being too groggy from waking up from his nap. Niko facepalmed—this battle was going to be over soon. The Spiny Nut Pokémon wailed from the burn mark he received. "It's going to be okay, Chespin, I promise. You just have to listen to me!"

Chespin turned to Niko as if noticing him for the first time. He stared carefully at Niko.

"That's right! I exist, Chespin! I'm _your_ trainer! You and I are supposed to battle _together_ , not just when you think it's convenient!" Niko said. "I chose you because I wanted to go on this journey with you, and I want to see you get stronger, is that what you want? Because if not, then you can leave."

Chespin blinked as he was clearly trying to process what Niko had said. He looked down at the ground in apparent shame. Then, after a few moments, he looked back at Oliver and Charmander. Chespin stood back up, releasing his green vines in a threatening manner.

"Charmander, smokescreen!" Oliver commanded, realizing that the battle was back on.

"Chespin, rollout!" Niko shouted automatically. The Spiny Nut Pokémon leapt into the air before forming a ball with his body and charged into the cloud of black smoke, just as fireballs shot out from it in every direction. "What the!?"

Chespin cried out as he was thrown backwards, his rollout broken, from the multiple embers. Charmander then emerged from the flames and used scratch to finish off Chespin.

"Looks like Chespin is unable to battle," Charlotte said, a slight frown etched on her face.

"Hmm," Oliver said as he returned Charmander, "not bad, not bad. I'd like to battle you again sometime, when your Pokémon actually listen to you. I think you have potential to be a great trainer when that happens."

"Err, thanks Oliver," Niko said as he returned Chespin as well. "You're pretty good yourself."

"I try to do my best. Anyway, it was nice meeting the two of you, but I have to hit the road again," he said, approaching Niko to shake his hand. "Good luck in Cyllage City."

"Same to you."

Oliver nodded to Charlotte before leaving the Pokémon Center, leaving the two trainers alone.

"We should probably go find Warren, first," Charlotte said.

"Can you do that while I'm healing up my Pokémon?" Niko asked. She nodded, and the two momentarily split up, which gave Niko some time to reflect on what just happened. _Chespin finally listened to me, and learned a new move…_ He wondered what his relationship with Chespin would look like in the coming days and weeks. Can he finally train the Pokémon?

"Niko?" Warren's voice carried through the lobby of the Pokémon Center while Niko waited for his Pokémon to return. "Niko! Charlotte told me about your battle!"

"Yeah, I got a new rival," Niko said with a smile.

"No! That Chespin listened to you!" he said, a grin running across his face. "Well done!"

"I don't really know what I did, though…" Niko admitted. "He just finally listened to _something_ I said, attack command or not. It was odd, though, almost like he didn't even know I existed until now."

"That doesn't surprise me at all," Warren said. "C'mon, let's go check out the Harvest Festival!"

The Festival didn't take too long, and it was comprised mainly of watching Snorlax eat a bunch of roots collected by the townspeople. Charlotte, who had never seen a snorlax in person, was thrilled by this, and Warren pledged to take careful notes on the rituals of the festival and how Snorlax was able to eat everything with such ease. Afterwards, Snorlax began heading west towards what Warren noted was route 7.

"So, a week or so until we get to Ambrette Town?" Niko asked as he and his two friends began to leave Camphrier Town.

"Looks like it," Charlotte said as she put her guidebook away while walking.

"Guys, stop," Warren muttered, halting both Charlotte and Niko.

The only way to get out of Camphrier Town was across a bridge. As the trio stood there, they noticed the bridge was occupied by a snorlax.


	9. A deal for the pokéflute!

**Episode 9: A deal for the pokéflute!**

"A…snorlax…" Niko said slowly, trying to comprehend what was before his eyes. A crowd appeared behind them, either interested in leaving Camphrier Town or to see the marvel in front of them. "A snorlax is sitting in our way."

"My oh my!" the trio turned to hear a short, portly-looking man with an incredible mustache running towards them. "What happened to snorlax!?"

"Sir, it must've taken a nap on the bridge," a taller, stately-looking man said.

"We need to get to Ambrette Town, sir," Niko mentioned. "Is there a way to get the snorlax out of the way?"

"Sure, there is," the portly man said. It took Niko a moment to realize that this man wasn't some ordinary person. He wore a crown. "I, Lord Shabboneau, am the proud owner of a pokéflute."

"Lord Shabboneau…?" Charlotte asked. "We still have royalty?"

"Of course we do!" Lord Shabboneau snapped.

"Either way, could you use the pokéflute to help move the snorlax?" Niko asked, thinking back to another time he and his friends needed to move a snorlax out of the way. It almost didn't end well for them.

"Well, err, there's a problem with that, sirs and madam," the taller man, presumably an assistant of some sort to Lord Shabboneau, said. "You see, the pokéflute is missing."

"Missing…? What do you mean by that?" Warren wondered.

"It's…in the hands of other royalty," the assistant said. "And we cannot get it back."

"Why not?"

"The current owner is a very entitled young woman," Lord Shabboneau said. "Princess Allie in Parfum Palace."

"Parfum Palace?" Charlotte said aloud, "That's just north of here, isn't it? It's not too far, actually."

"No, it's not. But Princess Allie refuses to give up the pokéflute. She stole it from us years ago, and we managed to get it back then, but…" Lord Shabboneau said, clearly looking dismayed.

"We'll just have to find a way, then," Niko declared. "I want to get to Ambrette Town, and so do my friends. We'll get the pokéflute back."

"Thank you!" Lord Shabboneau said, his eyes lighting up. "Thank you so much!"

"No problem," Niko said, motioning for Warren and Charlotte to follow him. "How far is Parfum Palace?"

"Not too far, actually," Charlotte said with a look of satisfaction. "Maybe a half day's walk."

"Then let's hurry it up a little," Niko said, extending his stride, which forced his friends to quicken their paces as well. At one point, Charlotte was practically jogging.

The trio made it past route 6—a path characterized by tall grass and trees all positioned in a neat, straight line—and to Parfum Palace by mid-afternoon. Once it was within sight, the three of them paused to marvel at it. Parfum Palace was a grandiose, multiple story building that was shaped in an elongated "U" shape, much like the Versailles Palace (only smaller).

"According to history, this palace was built by the King of Kalos 300 years ago," Charlotte stated.

"Interesting," Niko said as they walked through the massive courtyard and past numerous different patterned bushes and even a practice battlefield. By the time they made it to the front door, they had been at the palace for several minutes. "Should—should we knock?"

"No idea," Warren said, looking up at the massive golden doors in front of them. "Man, this king really liked to embellish."

"He designed the palace specifically to display his power," Charlotte added. "It was in the aftermath of a war, after all."

As it turned out, they didn't need to knock—the door opened for them, revealing a massive room with stairs running to each side and in the back and columns positioned in rows on both sides. Standing in lieu of the door was a man who looked to be a butler. He wore a fitting suit and a monocle, and otherwise looked rather dashing for his presumably old age.

"Afternoon, children," he said with an accented voice. "How may I help you?"

"Hi, uh, my name is Niko. This is Charlotte, and Warren. We are here to ask for Lord Shabboneau's pokéflute."

"Ah, and may I ask why?"

"We are trying to leave Camphrier Town, and there is a snorlax on the bridge out of town. It won't move," Niko explained.

"Well, the pokéflute was won for us in a contest some time ago. Princess Allie highly values it, and I do not believe she is in the mood to give up such a prized possession of hers."

"Please, sir," Niko said, "we need this pokéflute."

"I'll see what I can do," the butler said before turning and walking up the left set of stairs, leaving the trio in the open doorway. While they waited, they noticed maids and other assistants to the Princess walking by, staring them down, sometimes with curiosity, and other times with disgust. The latter of which seemed to irk Niko, who nearly snapped at one of them, but was put back in his place by Charlotte.

"We don't want to cause any trouble," she whispered to her friend.

"You're right—sorry," Niko muttered.

Minutes later the butler returned with a young woman of average height and looked to be around a little older than Niko. Her hair was red-orange and curled on both sides. She wore a slim-fitting, bright pink dress.

"SO!" she—presumably Princess Allie—shouted, immediately catching Niko's attention. "You want MY pokéflute, right?"

"Yes, yes, I do," Niko said confidently. "We need it to wake up a snorlax in Camphrier Town."

"Oh, boo-hoo!" she sneered. "It's _always_ Camphrier Town! Honestly, Lord Shabboneau should just buy a new one!"

"Well, we would like to borrow the pokéflute right—"

"No."

"No?" Niko repeated.

"No. The pokéflute is _mine_."

"But, what if we returned it?"

"How can I trust you?" she asked, raising an eyebrow and smirking evilly.

"Well, there is no way for you to, other than believe me in good faith that I'll return it," Niko replied, shrugging.

"Hmm. Well, there is _one_ way," she said, slowly walking up to Warren all of the sudden. " _You_ seem to be a handsome enough guy, if you dressed nicer."

"W-what!?" Warren said, recognizing this and backing away. "I—no. I have a girlfriend."

"Then no pokéflute for you."

"Wait, I have an idea," Niko suggested, but the princess ignored him.

"What is it, Niko?" Warren asked, sounding desperate.

"I'll battle you for it. One on one. Provided, of course, that you have a Pokémon."

"I just so happen to, actually," Princess Allie said, raising her nose to Niko. "Why wouldn't I?"

"I honestly have no idea, but I figured I should say it."

"Whatever. Anyway, why don't we have a battle, then? If you win, you get the pokéflute. If I win, I get your friend."

"Niko…" Charlotte said, herself unsure of this.

"Let's do it," Niko said, holding his hand out to shake Allie's. "You're on."

"NIKO!" Warren shouted.

"Trust me on this, bud," Niko said, grabbing Warren's shoulder. "I won't let you down."

Sighing, Warren nodded, suddenly feeling nervous about his friend gambling his fate. Princess Allie and her butler led the trio back outside to the courtyard, and furthermore towards the battlefield, which sat in a lowered space to the rightward-most point of the palace. Charlotte and Warren stood on the sidelines, while the butler acted as the judge of the match.

"This will be a one on one battle between Princess Allie and her challenger, Niko. When one trainer's Pokémon is unable to battle, the other will be declared the winner!" the butler declared.

"Furfrou, I choose you!" Allie shouted, summoning a poodle-like Pokémon. It had thick, white and red trimmed fur that made it look like it was in a kabuki play.

" _Furfrou, the Poodle Pokémon. Normal type. Historically, in the Kalos region, these Pokémon were the designated guardians of the King_ ," Niko's pokédex read.

"Of course it was. Alright then, Fletchling, I choose you!" he shouted, summoning the Tiny Robin Pokémon. "Let's start off with agility!"

"Charge beam!" Allie commanded.

"WHAT!?" Niko said, eyes widening. Charlotte audibly gasped and Warren looked like he was about to throw up. The Furfrou commanded a beam of electrical energy at Fletchling, who fortunately managed to dodge the move with agility and move in for a quick attack, which she successfully landed. "Nice job! Now use peck!"

"Bite, Furfrou!" Allie shouted. Fletchling managed to hit the Poodle Pokémon with a quick peck attack, but quickly felt her opponent bite down on her wing and thrust her through the air. "Charge beam!"

"Fletchling, quickly get out of the way!" Niko shouted. Once more, Fletchling swerved out of the way, which seemed to irritate Princess Allie. "Great! Now, quick attack again!"

"Bite, Furfrou!" Allie commanded, thrusting her hand to the side. Niko could see a slight smirk on her face. Just like before, Furfrou managed to grab onto Fletchling's wing. "Well done! Charge beam!"

"FLETCHLING!" Niko shouted as he watched the Tiny Robin Pokémon rocket backwards, static electricity surging around her. She crashed onto the battlefield before rolling and eventually coming to a stop just behind Niko. "Fletchling…are…are you alright?"

The Tiny Robin Pokémon slowly got up, but crumpled again. Just as the butler opened his mouth to declare the match for Allie and Furfrou, Fletchling got back up, stared for Furfrou and Allie with her smug expression, and began to illuminate a bright white color. Niko covered his eyes from the bright light as Fletchling began to grow to nearly triple its original size.

The new Pokémon was, like Fletchling, a bird, and was still predominantly orange, but it was now covered in black plumage as well. It had a sharp, black beak and a small, pointed crest atop its head. Its black eyes have yellow, mask-like marks extending from the back. Its upper side was reddish-orange and its belly remained gray, with a flame pattern marking the boundary on the breast. Its pointed wings are black with yellow tips and undersides. Its legs are also black, with sharp talons with two toes forward and one back. Its long black tailfeathers were marked with two white "v"-shapes. The tail ended in two points and had another feather sticking out of the base on each side, giving the impression of the fletching on the end of an arrow.

" _Fletchinder, the Ember Pokémon. Fire and flying type. The hotter the flame sac on its belly, the faster it can fly, but it takes some time to get the fire going_ ," Niko's pokédex read.

"Fletchinder…" Niko said, watching the new Pokémon stare down Furfrou and spit out a fireball from its mouth, presumably as a threat to her opponent. "Let's win this now."

"What!? That's not fair! He can't just evolve his Pokémon in the middle of a battle!" Princess Allie shouted. "I won't fight! No! I refuse to give you the pokéflute!"

"Then you don't take my friend, either. Fletchinder, ember!" Niko shouted, thrusting a hand forward. The Ember Pokémon shot forward at Furfrou and landed a small orange fireball before swerving upwards, leaving Furfrou to deal with the burn it might have incurred. "Now, quick attack again!"

"Furfrou, charge beam!" Allie commanded. The Poodle Pokémon summoned a stream of electricity and fired at Fletchinder, who turned to the right before crashing into her opponent, resulting in a small cloud of dust to erupt from the ground. Once the dust dissipated, Fletchinder was hovering just above the ground, and Furfrou was laying on its side, unable to move.

"Furfrou is unable to battle, Fletchinder is the winner! And the victory goes to Niko!" the butler declared.

"NO FAIR! NO FAIR!" Allie shouted, pointing at Niko. "He did not play fair!"

"I did. If you battle enough, you realize these things happen on occasion. Fletchling—I mean, Fletchinder—was ready to evolve. And, frankly, I think she just wanted to beat you," Niko said, watching Fletchinder perch herself on his shoulder. "You're definitely not as light as you used to be, that's for sure," before the Ember Pokémon pecked him, Niko stammered in nervousness, "it's a good thing, though! You're so much stronger now!"

"A deal is a deal, madam," the butler said as he walked over to the two battlers. "I know you don't like it, but you must honor that deal."

"Why would I honor a deal with peasants, though?" she asked, still fuming.

"Losing sucks, Allie," Niko said. "Trust me, I know that too well. But honoring a deal is more important, and it is a sign of respect to do so. If you really want the flute back, we can bring it back. I promise you that. But we just need it so that we can continue on our way. I'd prefer not to stay in Camphrier Town for the rest of my life."

"Oh, pfft, I _know_. That town is so disgusting!" Allie said with a snort.

"Well, not exactly, but—"

"But I see your point. You're right, I need to learn respect. Fine, if you promise to bring me back the pokéflute, I will let you borrow it."

"It's a deal," Niko said holding out his hand. Princess Allie hesitated, but eventually shook it, although she seemed pained to do so.

* * *

"We're back!" Niko shouted, turning heads as he walked up to the snorlax. "Uh…where's Lord Shabboneau?"

"He's off making a new pokéflute," one of the townspeople said.

"But, but…we have one right here," Niko said. "Does anyone know how to play it?"

"Uh…I do, actually," Charlotte said quietly, which turned her friend's heads.

"Really?" Niko said, an expression of shock and impression on his face. "When did this happen?"

"When I was a kid. It's been a while, but I think I can do it."

"Only if you want to—no pressure," Niko said as he held out the pokéflute. Charlotte hesitated, and then took it, and slowly approached the sleeping snorlax. She then took a deep breath and began playing. A soft, pleasant melody sounded from it. Niko couldn't help but smile as he watched his friend run her fingers along the flute, silently dictating which sounds were heard and unheard.

Eventually, the snorlax began to stir, and moved its head towards Charlotte and the pokéflute before turning over on its side and slowly beginning the arduous process of standing up. At its height, it easily dwarfed Charlotte, but that was hardly an issue when it turned around and lumbered off towards the mountains to the south of route 7.

Once snorlax was gone, the crowd clapped for Charlotte as she quickly turned, thrust the pokéflute in Niko's hands, and looked down at the ground in an odd attempt to hide herself.

"You did great," Niko said, tapping her on the shoulder. "Thank you."

"No problem, Niko," Charlotte said, an embarrassed smile etched on her face.

"Now we can finally go!" Warren said aloud.

"Not yet," Niko said, running his hand along the pokéflute. "We have a promise to keep."

"Oh… _right_ ," Warren said, sounding thoroughly displeased with the fact that he had to return to Parfum Palace. Noticing this, Niko and Charlotte let out a long, drawn out laugh at the thought of Warren seeing Princess Allie once more.

A long day past, the trio made their second trip to Parfum Palace, leaving just as the sun was setting. The following day, they'd continue on towards Cyllage City, and the second Kalos gym.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Hopefully y'all are alright with a dialogue-heavy chapter. It was more dialogue-based than I am used to, but I think it came out alright all the same.**


	10. The horde of sweets

**Episode 10: The horde of sweets**

According to Charlotte, the road to Ambrette Town would take over a week. Most of that time would be spent walking along route, which is known as one of the longest pathways in the Kalos region. It also rests alongside one of the largest rivers in the region, and provided Niko and his friends with plenty to watch during their journey as far as Pokémon were concerned.

Occasionally they would stop, either to eat, train, or simply rest. Niko and Charlotte in particular spent most of their time training with their Pokémon. Charlotte wanted to focus not just on her Pokémon learning new moves—Larvitar was now attempting to learn rock slide (with great difficulty) and Frillish began learning ominous wind—but also on their speed. To accomplish the second, she began jogging with her Pokémon around the area they were in. At first, she could hardly keep up with Fennekin, Skiddo, and Deerling—the fastest on her team—and stuck with some of her slower Pokémon like Smeargle and Larvitar. However, over the days following the events in Camphrier Town, she started to get faster.

Niko, on the other hand, took a different approach. Unlike Charlotte, he only had two Pokémon, and so his training was far more limited. However, Fletchinder did find a new passion for her fire abilities, often spitting out embers into the air, either to practice the move or to simply marvel at the fact that she _could_ spew fire. Chespin, on the other hand, was still getting used to training with Niko, and still refused his help on basic things such as the evasion exercise that Niko liked to try with his new Pokémon. The Spiny Nut Pokémon, nevertheless, did enjoy using his moves, particularly if he felt like he was being threatened (or teased).

Unexpectedly, during their journey Charlotte discovered that her newly-caught Skiddo was useful for carrying bags, and that his species generally enjoyed carrying things—even other humans! Niko was the first to learn of this, and made it known as soon as he could.

"Hey, Charlotte," he began one afternoon as they exited a forest and made it to the river's edge. "Did you know that skiddo are useful for riding?"

"Really? You'd think only gogoat would be," the brunette replied.

"Nah, skiddo too," Niko replied. "You should try it!"

"Err…I don't know about that."

"Then can I try it?" Niko asked. Charlotte hesitated before summoning the Mounting Pokémon. "Hey Skiddo…can I ride you?" the small grass type Pokémon nodded, albeit confused. Niko then got onto Skiddo's back, only to find his feet were close to the ground. "Well, this looks and feels awkward."

"Maybe you're more suited for a gogoat," Warren suggested. "Or a really large skiddo."

"I'm thinking the same thing, actually. But Charlotte can definitely ride this," Niko said, dismounting in lieu of his female companion.

"Skiddo…may I?" Charlotte asked politely. When her newest Pokémon nodded happily, she too mounted the grass type. "It feels…comfortable, actually. Might need to buy a saddle if I plan on riding Skiddo more often."

"They can also carry bags, too," Niko mentioned, reading his pokédex further.

"Really now?" Charlotte asked. When Niko nodded in response, she turned to Skiddo. "Are you fine with holding our bags on occasion?" again, Skiddo nodded.

"You have a really cool Pokémon, Charlotte," Niko said as they continued walking, this time with Skiddo out of his pokéball.

"Yeah, I really do. Smeargle, Frillish, Deerling, Fennekin, Larvitar, and Skiddo…" she replied, petting the latter right behind the horns. "I got lucky."

"Luck is when preparation meets opportunity," Warren said sagely. "You had both every time."

"I suppose that's one way of looking at it," Charlotte said, looking ahead to the road in front of them. "This looks like it's been well-traveled."

"Probably because it's so long, actually," Niko commented, putting his pokédex away. "Most travelers have probably had to take this road to Cyllage City."

"By the way, Niko," Warren asked, "what's this 'Oliver' guy like? You and Charlotte didn't really mention much of him."

"Oh, Oliver? He seems pretty nice, actually. Quiet, but nice," Niko said, a slight smile emerging. "I haven't had a rival like that in some time…"

"Elliot seemed nice enough!" Charlotte replied.

"Elliot is. He's just…he likes to keep to himself."

"Fair enough. When was the last time you had a rival you liked?" Warren asked, trying to continue the conversation.

"Hoenn. I had a couple rivals then—Wally and Melinda—that I was on good terms with. And, to be fair, I was on good terms with Elliot, too, but our relationship was more cordial than friendly."

"Well, you've got that Ian guy, and now Oliver. Looks like you've got your work cut out for you this time, especially if they both enter the Kalos League too!"

"Only matters if they end up battling with me," Niko turned to Warren with a smirk.

The trio continued down the path by the river for most of the day, eventually stopping at sunset where Niko and Charlotte continued their training. While Charlotte went on a brief jog with her team of six, Niko and his two Pokémon worked on their moves.

"Chespin, c'mon, let's try rollout again! You used it against that charmander, you can do it now!" Niko pleaded, watching Chespin sit down decisively, clearly choosing to give up for the night. "If you give up, then we won't get stronger. Not me, not Fletchinder, and certainly not you. We have to put in the effort _now_ if we want to see improvements later down the line when they actually matter."

The Spiny Nut Pokémon looked up at Niko before closing his eyes again, refusing to move. Niko then sat down next to him.

"Fine. Your choice," he said, just before he heard Charlotte scream. "Woah! Warren, did you hear that?"

"I did, let's go," he said, scrambling up onto his feet to run with Niko, Fletchinder and, for whatever reason, Chespin as well. They made it to the edge of the forest when they noticed Charlotte, five of her Pokémon, and then half a dozen floating white balls of fluff floating in the air, one of which was holding Fennekin in its elongated pink tail.

"What the hell?" Niko demanded to know.

"Everyone, attack!" Charlotte screamed. Each of her Pokémon attacked the fluffy Pokémon, prompting Niko to pull out his pokédex:

" _Swirlix, the Cotton Candy Pokémon. Fairy type. Because it eats nothing but sweets, its fur is as sticky as cotton candy_."

"I love cotton candy…" Niko said.

"Not the time, Niko!" Charlotte shouted just as Larvitar whipped up a sandstorm out of anger, catching everyone in it. In response, the six swirlix conjured up a strong gust of sparkling wind that, together, blew the group away, even Larvitar. "Fennekin! Use ember!"

The Fox Pokémon looked up at her captor and fired off a powerful orange fireball, hitting the swirlix in the face and causing it to instinctively let go. Fennekin fell to the ground and ran off towards Charlotte, leaping into her open arms.

"I'm so glad you're safe," she said, looking back at the swirlix who, now angry, seemed to flee back into the forest.

"What happened, Charlotte?" Warren asked as he crouched down next to her.

"We were just running and Fennekin got picked up by one of those…those…"

"Swirlix," Niko said, "they're called swirlix. And they're fairy type."

"And fairy is weak to poison and steel. I have neither of those…" Charlotte said, looking dismayed.

"And that's fine!" Niko said, patting her shoulder. "We got Fennekin, and that's what matter," he paused, "although, I do want a swirlix now."

"Because it looks like cotton candy…?" Charlotte asked jokingly.

"No!" Niko replied, looking away. "It…kinda looks adorable…but it's a fairy type, too! I've never owned a fairy type!"

"That's also true. It'd be nice, wouldn't it?"

Niko nodded. "In the morning, I'm going back for one," he decided.

* * *

Niko woke up to see Charlotte sketching her frillish by the river and Warren writing in his booklet. They were both sitting near the water, eagerly engaging in their respective arts. It brought a smile to Niko's face to see them with other hobbies and interests besides Pokémon training.

 _Speaking of which…_ Niko thought to himself, _time to catch a swirlix_.

He stood up, catching Charlotte's attention. She turned around to see him briefly stretch before grabbing his two pokéballs and walking off.

"You don't want to eat first?" she called out to him while continuing her sketch.

Niko stopped in his tracks. "Right…eheh, of course," he said, turning back to feed himself, Chespin, and Fletchinder. While he did so, he explained to his two Pokémon what he planned to do. "So we're going to try and catch a swirlix. It's a fairy type and by the looks of it, they travel in packs. We need to be in tip-top shape. Can you both handle this?"

Fletchinder immediately nodded, but it took a while for Chespin to agree to this. Eventually, realizing that a Fletchinder couldn't take on a horde of Pokémon by herself, he nodded as well, munching on an oran berry. Minutes later, the two Pokémon and their trainer got up and left for the forest after being wished good luck by Charlotte and Warren.

"Think he'll get one?" Warren asked.

"Yeah, I think so," Charlotte said with a slight grin as she finished sketching Frillish's tentacles.

Niko and his Pokémon slowly made their way through the forest, watching for any sign of movement nearby. At one point they saw a volbeat fly past them, which nearly scared Fletchinder, who had prepared to use ember in defense. After being calmed down, Fletchinder continued flying around to spot any sign of swirlix from above.

Eventually, Niko noticed a pink tail swishing around on the ground near a bush. Stopping his Pokémon, he slowly moved towards what he believed to be his target. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a tiny, red-and-white pokéball. However, when he clicked the center button to enlarge it, the noise the pokéball made alerted the swirlix, who appeared from behind the bush looking confused and scared.

"Hey! Were you that swirlix from yesterday?" Niko asked, "Do you remember me?"

The swirlix nodded, looking afraid. It was also the first time Niko noticed its feet—two small ovular white shapes sticking out from its sticky skin.

"Where are your friends? Aren't there more of you?" Niko wondered, approaching the swirlix. It nodded, but as Niko got closer, he noticed five others standing behind the bush, ready to attack. "OH MY!"

He was promptly blown away by the same sparkling wind as before, knocking him, Chespin, and Fletchinder to the ground. Scrambling back up, Niko commanded his Pokémon to attack—Fletchinder to use quick attack to knock them off of their feet, and Chespin to grab them with vine whip and throw them aside. Both Pokémon attacked relentlessly, but the latter was quickly overpowered by the sparkling wind and missed his vine whip.

"Chespin, get back up! You can do it!" Niko shouted through the heavy wind. Fletchinder then managed to force a few of the swirlix to the ground and briefly knocking them out. With the help of Niko, Chespin managed to get back up and release two green vines from his neck and throw down a fourth and later fifth swirlix, leaving only one left. "Fletchinder, use peck!" Niko called out now that the sparkling wind had died down.

"Fletch!" Fletchinder dove down at the swirlix, her beak bright white and elongated. As soon as she crashed into the swirlix, knocking it to the ground, Niko brought out his spare pokéball again.

"Let's…GO!" he shouted, throwing the pokéball at swirlix. The Cotton Candy Pokémon began to glow bright red before going inside the ball and falling to the ground. It wiggled a little before ultimately clicking, an indication that it had been successfully capture. "Well done, you two," Niko said to Fletchinder and Chespin. "Especially you, Chespin. We couldn't have done it without you."

Chespin scratched his head nervously, as if embarrassed. Niko looked around to see the swirlix rising from the ground, looking genuinely saddened by the capture of their friend.

"Don't worry, swirlix—your friend is fine with me," Niko said in a kind tone. "I'm going to do everything in my power to keep this swirlix safe. And one day we might come back and visit, and it'll be so much stronger. I promise you that."

The swirlix looked at Niko suspiciously before nodding their approval. Niko and his Pokémon had beaten them in battle; they couldn't deny that. Nodding, Niko summoned his newly caught swirlix.

"Hi, my name is Niko. These are my other Pokémon, Fletchinder and Chespin. We're currently travelling the Kalos region, collecting gym badges and hoping to enter the Kalos League next spring. I'd like for you to join me; you seem strong, and that's why I caught you. We might come back here for a long time, so I wanted to give you a moment to say bye to your friends."

Swirlix nodded before waddling around (it was on its feet on the ground) and looking up at its five other friends. They all floated down to the ground and began talking to each other in a language Niko couldn't quite understand, but Chespin and Fletchinder did, and seemed moved by it. From what Niko got from the dialogue, his new swirlix was leaving his close friends (or family) to move on with Niko. It made him, in a way, feel bad about splitting up a group for his own interests.

Niko then crouched to the ground to address his swirlix. "Look, I'm sorry if I'm making you leave your friends. If you want to stay, you can. But if you come with me, I promise to make sure you have plenty of new friends. I'm travelling with two other humans, and they both have a lot of Pokémon, too. We'll make sure you get along well with all of them. And, if you come with me, we'll keep training, battling, and getting stronger."

He then patted swirlix's skin, feeling the sticky, sugary exterior of his new Pokémon. He suddenly found himself having a craving for something sweet.

"Alright you three, let's go. Swirlix, it's time to meet your new friends," Niko said decisively. While he stood up, swirlix turned to its friends and said a final farewell before rising into the air and following Niko.

"You caught it?" Warren asked when he saw Niko emerge from the forest with three Pokémon instead of two.

"Yup. Everyone, meet Swirlix," Niko said, motioning to the Pokémon floating next to him. Charlotte's team side-eyed swirlix; Fennekin in particular began growling at it. "Alright, calm down everyone."

"No, they won't calm down," Charlotte said, "they're upset by the swirlix."

"I know they are, but we can move past it I'm sure."

"So am I, but let them have this," Charlotte replied as Niko walked past her. Fennekin looked like she was about to leap up and bite swirlix, but Smeargle stopped her, clearly urging restraint.

For the rest of the day the group continued on their journey to Ambrette Town, as part of a larger journey to Cyllage City. And, throughout the day, Niko kept reflecting on capturing Swirlix, wondering if it was still the right decision. Charlotte and Warren noticed this, but didn't say anything in response, hoping that whatever Niko was thinking about would subside.

For its part, Swirlix also felt some separation anxiety, but tried to hide it and put on a brave face for itself; that's what it's friend would have wanted.


	11. A day at the Chateau

**Episode 11: A day at the Chateau**

"Hey, Niko, what do you think that is?" Warren asked as he pointed off in the distance to a massive castle on the water.

"No idea, Charlotte?" Niko said, turning to their female companion. She immediately grabbed her guidebook from her bag and looked it up. After a couple of minutes, she mouthed "ah-ha!" and turned the book around to show her friends. "Battle…chateau?"

"What's that?"

"Looks like something akin to the Battle Frontier," Niko replied. "And it looks like it's exclusive to the Kalos region."

"Want to check it out?" Warren suggested. "Maybe it'll help you two prepare for the Cyllage City Gym."

Niko looked at Charlotte, who seemed to momentarily light up in excitement. With a full team of Pokémon now, she had been wanting to test her skill against a trainer not named Niko or Warren. And she had made this quite clear on several occasions during their travels, specifically when noting that Niko had two other battling rivals and she had none. Niko attempted to defend himself, saying that it comes with the experience, and Charlotte believed him. However, it didn't seem to change her point at all.

Generally, she felt better about her Pokémon. Frillish had begun to master ominous wind, and Larvitar seemed to be getting the hang of learning rock slide. Smeargle was getting better at battling more generally, and Fennekin and Skiddo enjoyed just practicing their moves. Charlotte, after training with Skiddo for some time, realized that the small Mounting Pokémon seemed to have an untapped reservoir of power, since he kept defeating any Pokémon on her team that it challenged, with the exception of Deerling.

Deerling—the second Pokémon Charlotte had captured on her adventures—was struggling with learning a new move. He was still fairly powerful, to be sure, but his attempts at learning energy ball—a grass type move—consistently failed. It was particularly embarrassing to the Season Pokémon when he attempted energy ball against his teammate Skiddo, only to fail and get wrapped up in a vortex of razor leaves.

Charlotte noticed this quickly, and spent an inordinate amount of time with Deerling during the days previous to arriving at the Battle Chateau working with the Season Pokémon to help regain his confidence in himself.

"Yes, let's go to the Battle Chateau," she said, feeling determined. Niko nodded as well, ready to test his own team's might against whatever lay in wait for them there.

Crossing the drawbridge and entering through the double doors in front, the trio finally met another human being in the lobby of the Chateau. The lobby was fancy, similar-looking to Parfum Palace. Columns with gemstones at their base ran along the lobby with equivalent space between one another. The floor and walls were coated in marble. In the back of the room, behind a marble-coated desk, was a middle-aged lady in a maid's outfit, who first bowed to them before speaking.

"Welcome to the Battle Chateau. I'm afraid I don't recognize any of you. Are you three new?"

"Yes, we'd like to participate in the Battle Chateau," Niko said, unsure of what exactly to say. "Could you explain it to us?"

"Of course," she began, "the Battle Chateau is based on a ranking system. The ranks are named after different medieval nobility, and determine the relative strength of a trainer. Every trainer starts off as a Baron or Baroness, depending on one's gender, and will advance through the ranks once they've won a certain amount of battles. The higher one goes, the harder the challenges will be. The ranks are as follows: Baron/Baroness; Viscount/Viscountess; Earl/Countess; Marquis/Marchioness; Duke/Duchess; Grand Duke/Grand Duchess."

"I get it. How do you sign up?"

"You don't need to until you've defeated another person of your rank, which is none. Plenty of trainers come in here to challenge the Battle Chateau, but cannot battle someone of a rank higher than them. Speaking of challenges, one must ask for the challenge by declaring a writ of invitation. Generally this means throwing one's gloves at their prospective challenger. However, if you're new you simply approach one another."

"Sounds simple enough. Charlotte, Warren, you up for it?"

"Sure," Warren said.

"Absolutely," Charlotte replied. The lady in the maid outfit nodded happily, walking them to the side of the room where they entered into a set of stairs that took them to the second floor. Inside the room was a crowd of men, women, boys, and girls, all dressed nice clothing; tuxedos, suits, and long, expensive—looking dresses from difficult-to-pronounce brands.

"Looks like we underdressed for this…" Niko muttered as they took a look around the place.

"What makes you say that?" Charlotte wondered. "Not that I care, really."

"Neither do I, Niko," Warren said, "Let's just go find a challenger to face."

"You're right—" Niko said before he was interrupted.

"Welcome to the Battle Chateau!" a gentlemanly voice echoed throughout the room. "Ladies and gentlemen, today we have several new challengers! Please give them a round of applause, and feel free to make conversation with them!"

The crowd erupted into applause as the trio looked around, unsure of what to make of this. While Charlotte and Niko found themselves wound up in conversation with a middle-aged man and his wife, Warren was approached by the gentleman that introduced them as new challengers.

"Sir, if you are ready, we would like to set you up with a challenger," the gentleman, dressed in a charcoal suit, said to Warren first.

"O-of course, sir," Warren said just as a young woman walked up to him and shook his hand. "Hiya! What's your name?"

"Sandra. I'm new as well," she said shyly.

"Well, looks like we have something in common. Would you like to battle?"

"Of course," she said with a smile. The gentleman, who seemed to be a judge of some sorts, Niko deduced, led the two over to a set of stairs and descended onto a floating platform resting on the massive river. Niko, Charlotte, and many of the other frequents to the Battle Chateau watched from a balcony high above.

"This will be a battle between our newest challengers, Warren from Castelia City and Sandra from Lumiose City. The winner of the battle will upgrade to the rank of Baron or Baroness. It will be a one-on-one Pokémon battle. Once the two trainers are ready, the battle will begin.

"Poliwhirl, I choose you!" Warren commanded, throwing out a pokéball containing his very first Pokémon.

"Flabébé, I choose you!" Sandra shouted, summoning a tiny, white flower-like Pokémon. It had a rounded yellow "crown" on its head. It had tiny, beady eyes and blush marks, and a small nose. It holds the pistil of a flower which had white petals running around it.

" _Flabébé, the Single Bloom Pokémon. Fairy type. It draws out and controls the hidden power of flowers. The flower Flabébé holds is most likely part of its body_ ," Charlotte's pokédex read.

"That Pokémon is _tiny_ ," Niko said, squinting so he could effectively see it.

"Flabébé, use fairy wind!" Sandra shouted, suddenly ditching her shy persona in favor of an ambitious-sounding one. The Flabébé conjured a gust of sparkling wind that Niko and Charlotte immediately recognized. _So, that's fairy wind_ , Niko thought to himself.

"Poliwhirl, water gun!" Warren shouted, figuring that a burst of water could help buffer from the sparkling fairy wind. It managed to successfully do so, and the pair decided to follow up with ice punch, to which Flabébé quickly evaded in lieu of attacking. "Hypnosis!"

"Razor leaf!" Sandra commanded. Flabébé conjured a vortex of sharp leaves to throw at Poliwhirl, who managed to successfully put his opponent to sleep before taking the barrage of attacks that ultimately brought him to a knee as well.

"Poliwhirl, you got this buddy?" Warren asked. The tadpole Pokémon nodded, standing back up with some difficulty. "Great, use ice punch!"

Poliwhirl's fist chilled as he ran towards the sleeping Flabébé. He successfully managed to land the punch, looking as if he crushed the Single Bloom Pokémon with a simple punch. However, Poliwhirl was blown back by what looked like fairy wind. Flabébé had woken back up.

"Razor leaf!" Sandra commanded.

"Block it with ice punch!" Warren shouted. "Now, doubleslap!"

"Fairy wind!" Sandra called out. Flabébé conjured another gust of wind that managed to briefly push Poliwhirl back before he began progressing once more towards his opponent, successfully landing the doubleslap and sending Flabébé across the field towards the edge. "Razor leaf!"

"Hypnosis!" Warren shouted. Poliwhirl once more put Flabébé to sleep and, realizing his opportunity, rushed towards the Single Bloom Pokémon and landed an ice punch to win the match.

"Flabébé is unable to battle, Poliwhirl is the winner! And the victory goes to Warren, who will now hold the title of Baron!" the judge declared, throwing an arm up in Warren's direction.

A white cape with gold and red strings was brought to Warren, who wore it proudly as he walked to Sandra.

"Great battle, by the way. I had no idea something so small could be so powerful."

"Thanks," Sandra said, blushing a little. "I think your Poliwhirl did great as well. Guess we just need to keep training."

"That's what my friends always say when they don't win. Keep it up," Warren said, just as the judge began announcing another pair of newcomers.

"We have just witnessed another challenge be made between trainers. Niko from Pallet Town and Barry from Anistar City!" the maid that greeted Warren and his friends announced. Warren slapped his friend on the shoulder as he passed by Niko and Barry, a black-haired young boy with a thin face. Like with Warren and Sandra, the judge explained the rules of engagement for the next pair of challengers.

"That was some battle, Warren," Charlotte said as her friend returned to the balcony.

"Yeah, it was harder than it looked, to be honest. Hope Niko does well now."

"I'm sure he will," Charlotte said with a smirk. Her eyebrows raised at the sight of Niko's Pokémon opponent—a small, bipedal cat-like creature with purple fur and wide, pearlescent pink eyes.

" _Espurr, the Restraint Pokémon. Psychic type. The organ that emits its intense psychic power is sheltered by its ears to keep power from leaking out_ ," her pokédex read.

"Espurr? Not familiar with it. Swirlix, you're up!" Niko shouted, summoning his newest Pokémon. "Use cotton spore!"

"Psybeam!" Barry shouted. From its mouth, Espurr conjured a beam of psychic energy that seemed to be deflected by the small puffs of cotton emitting from Swirlix's body. "Hmm…alright then, use light screen!" he shouted just as the cotton spores took effect, slowly Espurr's movements as they stuck to it. "Psybeam again!"

"Swirlix, use fairy wind!" Niko shouted. Swirlix wagged her—Niko recently discovered it was a "her"—tail and conjured up a powerful gust of sparkling wind that pushed the already bogged-down Espurr onto its back. "Round!"

"Light screen!" Barry commanded. This time, successfully, the attack seemed to land, blocking the loud sound emitting from Swirlix's mouth. "Now, get up and use psybeam!"

"Fairy wind!" Niko called out. Swirlix conjured another wind with her tail, but was quickly halted by the psybeam that struck her directly in the stomach, launching her backwards and nearly off of the platform. "Cotton spore, then!"

"Espurr, light screen!" Barry shouted. This time, fortunately, the light screen was put up before cotton spore hit, preventing the Restraint Pokémon from being further bogged down by the cotton. "Psybeam!"

"Round!"

Both attacks hit at the same time, knocking Swirlix and Espurr back simultaneously. It was clear that the match was not only one between equals, but also would be over soon enough.

"Swirlix, move in closer and use fairy wind!" Niko commanded. The Cotton Candy Pokémon floated forward, dodging a couple psybeams before closing the distance with her opponent. "Now!"

"Espurr, light screen!" Barry commanded. Once more, Swirlix's attack was blocked by light screen, but Swirlix dove down to tackle Espurr, which managed to cause it to stick to Swirlix.

"Right…" Niko muttered, "Swirlix, into the air, now!"

Swirlix rose high into the air, Espurr attached to her side, before using fairy wind on Niko's command, and forcing Espurr to quickly descend to the ground. Fortunately, Barry commanded his Pokémon to use confusion on itself, which halted the fall, but nevertheless left Espurr exhausted. It tried to get back up, but eventually collapsed.

"Espurr is unable to battle, Swirlix is the winner! And the victory goes to Niko from Pallet Town, who has now been promoted to the rank of Baron!"

"Well done, Swirlix," Niko said, watching his new Pokémon happily float over to him. "I didn't even consider your sticky skin. We'll have to take advantage of that in the future, right?" Swirlix nodded sticking her small, pink tongue out with joy.

Charlotte finished clapping for Niko when she felt a tap on her shoulder. Turning around, she saw a tall, beautiful woman with long, straight blonde hair standing behind her.

"I'm new to the Battle Chateau, and they told me you're new as well," she said in a low, oddly seductive voice. "How about we see who's worthy of the rank of Baroness?"

"Yeah, sure why not," Charlotte said with a shrug. She—whoever she was—was right: Charlotte was the only one out of her friends that had yet to battle. As Niko and Barry walked back onto the balcony, Charlotte and her battling partner left it.

"Who's that?" Niko asked, referring to Charlotte's challenger.

"Some girl who asked Charlotte for a battle," Warren said.

"Interesting. Wonder who Charlotte will use for this battle," Niko said, leaning against the balcony with Swirlix watching beside him.

"This will be a battle between Charlotte from Castelia City and Morgan from Lilycove city!" the judge declared, explaining the rules of the match. Both trainers opened up pokéballs, and sent out their respective Pokémon.

"Deerling, I choose you!" Charlotte shouted.

"Sableye, I choose you!" Morgan shouted, summoning the dark/ghost type Pokémon Niko was familiar with.

" _Sableye, the Darkness Pokémon. Dark and ghost type. It dwells in the darkness of caves. It uses its sharp claws to dig up gems to nourish itself_ ," Niko's pokédex said as he showed it to Warren.

"Interesting," he replied. "Think Deerling has a shot?"

"If it learns energy ball, then yes," Niko said, "But if Deerling uses any of its other moves then it won't affect Sableye."

"Right…double kick or take down won't do anything. Only energy ball and faint attack," Warren added.

"Sableye, zen headbutt!" Morgan commanded.

"Deerling, energy ball!" Charlotte shouted, knowing fully well how large of a risk it was. Nevertheless, she made the attempt, only to watch Deerling get hit by the psychic-type move. "Deerling, faint attack, now!"

"Fury swipes!" Morgan called out. Sableye waited for Deerling to attack before unleashing a fury of slashes and scratches on its opponent, forcing Deerling to crouch to the ground and whimper slightly.

"Deerling…you can do it…" Charlotte said, trying to find a way around it. "You have to believe in yourself! Deerling, use energy ball!"

Deerling attempted to conjure the sphere of a light green color, but failed, lowering his head and apparently giving up. Sableye then slammed its head against Deerling's, blue sparks flying off of the point of impact and knocking the Season Pokémon onto his side.

"DEERLING!" Charlotte shouted. "You can get back up, I know you can! If you give up, then you'll never get stronger! You'll never be the Pokémon that you know you can be, the Pokémon that I _know_ you are! Use energy ball!"

Deerling slowly stood back up to face Sableye, feeling the full confidence of her trainer behind her. The Season Pokémon conjured a light green sphere made up of pure energy and shot it at Sableye, knocking it onto the ground. Charlotte's eyes lit up with happiness as she watched Deerling, on his own, charge towards Sableye and briefly disappear before reappearing and slamming into Sableye with faint attack.

"Energy ball again!" Charlotte shouted. From close range, Deerling conjured a second successful energy ball, landing it against Sableye's face and knocking it to the ground. Morgan, however, was not through with, and neither was her Sableye.

"Power gem!" she shouted. Sableye thrust out its tiny, purple claws and summoned small pink gems that fired at Deerling, launching the Season Pokémon across the field. Deerling collapsed onto the ground before slowly getting back up. "Still fighting? My my Charlotte, your Pokémon has moxie."

"Of course he does. Deerling, use energy ball!"

"Detect!" Morgan shouted. Sableye's eyes shined for a moment before it evaded the move. "Now, zen headbutt!"

"Faint attack!" Charlotte commanded. Deerling waited for Sableye to get close enough before it disappeared, reappeared, and struck the Darkness Pokémon from the side, knocking it to the ground. "Finish it off with energy ball!"

"Detect!" Morgan shouted, but it was too late; the energy ball had successfully hit, knocking Sableye back to the ground in defeat.

"Sableye is unable to battle, Deerling is the winner! And the victory goes to Charlotte from Castelia City!"

"Hmph!" Morgan said, returning her Sableye. "That'll be the only time you defeat the great Morgan from Lilycove City!" she shouted, raising her nose to Charlotte and storming off.

"Deerling…I'm so proud of you," Charlotte said to the exhausted Season Pokémon. "You really showed your stuff today. I'm proud to call you my Pokémon."

Deerling nuzzled Charlotte's cheek before the judge walked up and delivered a white cape to Charlotte, similar to the one that Warren and Niko both received. She smiled as she looked at it: proof that she was getting better as a trainer.

* * *

"Thank you!" Niko said to the maid that had initially greeted them earlier that afternoon. "We'll be sure to come back!"

"I hope so," she said with a grin, "You three provided some of the most exciting battle we've seen all week!"

Niko nodded, turning to Warren and Charlotte. "Well Baron Warren, Baroness Charlotte, shall we get going to Ambrette Town?"

"I think so, Baron Niko," Warren said with an accompanying laugh. It had been a day filled with high-intensity Pokémon battles, and each trainer felt like they grew alongside their Pokémon. Now, with more determination than ever, the trio continued their long journey towards Cyllage City.


	12. Under Zubat Roost

**Episode 12: Under Zubat Roost**

A couple of days after their experience at the Battle Chateau, Niko and his friends took the next step on their way to Ambrette Town, which would naturally lead them to Cyllage City. That next step, they quickly learned, was through a cave.

"Connecting cave…?" Niko said, peering over Charlotte's shoulder one afternoon as she scrolled through her Kalos guidebook.

"Looks like it. But it's a quick trip to Ambrette Town. If we hurry, we could make it tonight, or even tomorrow!"

"Sounds like a plan!" Niko said, pumping his fist. Later that afternoon they made it to a collection of large hills that stopped at the river along route 7. Off in the distance sat a cave entrance wide enough for humans to cross through. Point to it, Niko wondered if that was the correct entrance. Charlotte, in response, simply shrugged and walked towards it, Warren and Niko in tow.

"This could be it, for sure," she said, peering into the entrance. "Why not give it a shot?"

"Yeah…sure," Niko said, shocked by Charlotte's sudden bravery. It was that, he thought, or recklessness. Either way, it seemed out of character for her.

The cave entrance led into a dark tunnel that Charlotte's Fennekin and Smeargle helped to quickly light up. Together, the three trainers and the two Pokémon walked down the tunnel, which somehow seemed to get darker than it already was. Above them, Niko noticed zubats perched on the ceiling, carefully eying them. Charlotte noticed them as well, and understood why the cave was also called "Zubat Roost."

As Charlotte took a step after several minutes of walking, she found herself tripping on the ground in front of her. Smeargle, breaking her ember attack, lunged forward to grab her trainer. "Thanks, Smeargle," she said, waiting for Fennekin to trot over to see what was before them.

A long tunnel that went further into the ground stood before them, in the middle of the tunnel they were already in. Confused, Charlotte turned to Niko and Warren, each of whom shrugged.

"Guess we're going down," she said, looking a little more nervous than she previously was. The guidebook told her that Connecting Cave was not a long trip for travelers. Why were they going deeper into the Earth?

Nevertheless, the trio continued downwards, noticing that it began to glow after a while, with torches and lanterns hanging on the sides of the tunnel at equal intervals between one another. After what seemed like hours, but in reality, was only fifteen or so minutes, the trio finally reached the end of the tunnel, and were surprised at what they saw.

At the edge of the tunnel lay an underground village. It was a fully functioning society, with people walking in and out of different shops made of concrete and clay-like materials, a Pokémon Center made out of concrete, and several streets and shops were built. The entire village must've been roughly 10 miles in diameter. Along the edges of the walls were massive enclaves that acted as houses. There were also large construction materials surrounding the walls in addition to the houses—presumably to expand the village if necessary.

"What the…" Warren said, looking up and around. They must've walked nearly half a mile underground, for that was how high the ceiling seemed to be. "This is incredible."

"Isn't it?" a voice asked as they approached the trio. "Hi, I'm Daryl. I'm a tour guide for Roche Village. I take it you're all new?"

"Yes…we were in Connecting Cave, on our way to Ambrette Town, when we suddenly started going down deeper into the cave."

"Ah, a common mistake for travelers. We get them all the time. Come, let me show you around," Daryl said, motioning for them to follow. He was a shorter, pale-skinned young man who looked to be Niko's age, but shorter. He wore long, brown hair that went down to his shoulders, and bore a light amount of freckles on his face. He dressed quite nicely for someone who essentially lived in a cave—he had a nice, black jacket on with jeans and sneakers underneath. "So, where're ya three from?"

"Pallet Town."

"Castelia City for the both of us," Charlotte said.

"Ah, all new to Kalos, then? How interesting…we rarely get folks like you three. Anyway, welcome to Roche Village, named after our founder, Theodore Roche. One day, a century ago, he stumbled upon a large cave entrance deep within Zubat Roost, and got lost within it. Years later, he had returned to the surface with the help of authorities from Ambrette Town, but not before establishing his own home down there. Later, he came back with his family and close friends, and they established a small village down here. It's been around ever since.

"And before you ask," he said with a smirk, "we have supplies occasionally brought to us from other towns and cities. In exchange, we provide them with minerals for their projects. It all seems to work out nicely."

"Daryl, this is something else for sure," Warren said.

"I was born here, and I still find it amazing, to be honest," he said, looking up at the massive lights at the top of the ceiling that provided light for the entire village. "I always find myself learning something new, every day," he paused for a moment. "Say, why are you three travelling?"

"I'm here to learn about mega evolution, as well as challenge gyms," Niko, the first to respond, said.

"Same here," Charlotte added.

"I'm just exploring Kalos, honestly," Warren said.

"Challenging gyms you say?" Daryl asked, raising an eyebrow, "and you said you're going to Cyllage City?" he then put a hand to his chin, deep in thought.

"Yeah, why?" Niko asked.

"Follow me then," Daryl said, "there's someone I'd like for you to meet."

Daryl guided them through the village until they got to one of the walls on the edge. In front and above them was a massive wall with rocks sticking out. High above—towards the top—the wall turned into the side of a cliff, jutting outwards from the wall. Near the top, at the point where the wall began to protrude outwards, stood a tall man climbing the wall.

"There's a guy up there!" Warren said.

"Yup, he's rock climbing. That's the gym leader of Cyllage City, Grant," Daryl said. "Figured you'd like an introduction before you battle. Hey, and maybe you could have your gym match here!"

"Maybe…" Niko said, turning to Charlotte, who looked a little intimidated. "You alright?"

"Oh, me? Yeah, I'm just fine," Charlotte said, although she didn't exactly feel fine. They watched Grant climb to the top of the wall before walking into the tunnel behind the cliff. Minutes later, he came jogging down a set of stairs nearby.

"Hey Daryl!" Grant said. He was tall and dark-skinned, with black hair that was styled up and to his left. For whatever reason, gemstones in a variety of colors were placed in his hair. "How goes things?"

"As usual, Grant. Actually, I just ran into some newcomers. And you might find a couple of them interesting," Daryl said, pointing to Niko and Charlotte.

"Oh? And how so?"

"They're going to the Cyllage City Gym."

"Ah. Hah! Ya don't say?" Grant placed his hands on his waist. "And who might I have the honor of meeting today?"

"I'm Niko, from Pallet Town."

"Charlotte from Castelia City."

"Pallet Town…I knew a trainer from Pallet. Highly ambitious, and very battle-intuitive. He wasn't afraid to take risks and try something new. That's probably why he beat me," Grant said with a large grin. "And Castelia City…my my, you two are from all over the place? Welcome to Kalos, and welcome to Roche Village!"

"Thanks, we found it on the way to Cyllage, actually," Niko mentioned.

"Figures, that's usually how people find this place. Unfortunately, I'm not taking any challenges at the moment, but I will as soon as I get back to Cyllage City, so be ready for me then."

"Noted," Charlotte muttered.

"Either way, I wish you luck on your journeys. The trip to Cyllage City usually takes a long time for trainers. I appreciate it, though—allows me to battle against more seasoned trainers."

"Oh, these two are seasoned enough!" Warren mentioned, putting arms around Niko and Charlotte. "Niko here has competed in five Pokémon Leagues already!"

"Five? Well then, I really need to train for this battle," Grant said, thoroughly impressed.

"You don't have to tell _everyone_ that," Niko whispered.

"I don't, though! Just the important people," Warren said with a grin.

"Anyway, I must get going now. It was nice meeting you three. Daryl, I'll see you around," Grant said as he waved and walked away.

"So what else is there to do in this village?" Charlotte asked.

"Plenty. Let me show you something else!" Daryl said excitedly, guiding them through yet another part of the town. Now, Niko and his friends were noticing more clearly the windows to the houses along the wall, with the occasional balcony jutting out from the side. Walking along the brick-lain streets, they saw street vendors, musicians, and painters conducting business or practicing their craft, just as they would in any ordinary town or city.

"This place is just incredible…" Niko muttered as he watched a man paint alongside a smeargle of his own. Next to the artist was a man playing the harmonica for money, a small meowth doing the same on its own instrument. "Pokémon can play musical instruments too?"

"Yeah, you didn't know that?" Warren replied.

"Guess not…" Niko said, looking surprised.

"We're here!" Daryl said after a few minutes. They had arrived at the far end of the village, relative to where they entered. In front of them was a massive mining drill and workers running around. "This is the mining organization for Roche Village. It's a largely volunteer force that helps with the expansion. Some do it for fun, some do it out of duty to the rest of the village; either way, it gets done."

"Interesting," Niko said, "I've gone mining once before."

"You have?" Charlotte asked curiously.

"Yeah, back in Sinnoh. That's how I got my Rampardos," Niko said.

"So, you're familiar with fossils then?" Daryl asked, to which Niko simply nodded. "Very cool. I like rampardos a lot. So far we've only found to species native exclusively to Kalos—tyrunt and amaura, as well as their respective evolutions. Grant, actually, owns a fossil Pokémon of his own."

"Really? Which one?"' Charlotte asked.

"Oh, I won't tell you _that_. But I will say that he's damn good at mining, too," Daryl said. "He doesn't like to admit it, though. Too obsessed with rock climbing."

"And so you occasionally find fossils here?" Niko asked, trying to keep on the topic of fossil Pokémon. He has always enjoyed the prospect of discovering them and, generally speaking, they aren't terrible battlers either.

"We manage to find more than you can imagine. Somehow, they all manage to end up here. We get fossils from other Pokémon, too, but those two are the main ones. We call them Jaw Fossils and Sail Fossils," Daryl explained, leading them over to a white folding table. "See? This one is the Jaw Fossil," he said, pointing to a massive rock with a red mouth and accompanying jaw jutting out from it. "And the Sail Fossil," he pointed to a rock with a white and yellow-colored sail-like object sitting in the center.

"Wow…" Niko said.

"Yeah. They go for a _ton_ of money, which is partly why we get so many people volunteering to mine. Finders keepers."

"Incredible," Charlotte added, just as they heard someone yell off in the distance.

"Get _off_ of me!" a woman shouted out, smacking a man in a hideous red outfit with her purse.

"What's going on?" Niko asked, looking up from the Sail Fossil to see a woman being harassed by some man. "Swirlix, let's go!" he shouted instinctively. "Use fairy wind!"

"Swiiiiiiirl," the Cotton Candy Pokémon shouted, summoning a gust of sparkling wind to knock the man in the red outfit off of his feet and onto the brick street roughly fifty feet away. He angrily got up and ran, a purse in his hands.

"Help! That man took my purse!" she shouted.

"Swirlix, use cotton spore!" Niko shouted. Once more, the fairy type shot out small balls of sticky cotton that enveloped the man's legs, slowing him down and eventually causing him to fall to the ground, his red shades falling off of his nose. Instinctively, he pulled out his own pokéball.

"Houndour, I choose you!" he shouted. "Use ember!"

"Fairy wind!" Niko shouted. Swirlix summoned another gust of sparkling wind to knock houndour over just as the former dodged a fireball.

"Frillish, water pulse!" Charlotte shouted, summoning her own Pokémon to help out. Frillish shot out of her pokéball and doused houndour with a burst of pulsating water. "Now, use bubblebeam!"

"Poliwhirl, water gun!" Warren shouted, but by the time the Tadpole Pokémon came out and began to use his attack, houndour was unable to continue battling.

Niko, Charlotte, Warren, and their Pokémon all approached the man. "Give that woman her purse back," Charlotte demanded, Frillish standing behind her, a water pulse at the ready.

"F-fine, whatever. Take your damn purse," the man said, throwing the purse in front of him. "Now please get me out of this?"

"The authorities can help you with that," Daryl suggested. "Thanks, guys, I really appreciate that."

"No problem," Niko said, returning swirlix just as his friends returned their Pokémon.

"You know what?" Daryl said, "Why don't you take one of our fossils for the road? You guys are on a journey, you might find a fossil Pokémon of use to you," he said, pointing to the two fossils on the folding table.

"Are you sure?" Niko asked. He wanted to take one, of course, but he didn't think it would be right to, especially since all they did was get a woman's purse back. _These people are incredibly generous_ , he thought to himself.

"Of course I am! We find fossils all the time, and for whatever reason they're traded _to_ us, too," Daryl explained. "C'mon, I insist. You get one for the group."

"Who should take it, then?" Niko wondered.

"You should," Charlotte said, folding her hands behind her back.

"Me? Why?"

"One: you've used fossil Pokémon before," Charlotte replied.

"And two: it doesn't make sense for me to take one," Warren said, "and Charlotte already has a full team. It should go to you."

"Okay," Niko said, understanding their argument (and secretly appreciating it), "which one should I get, then?"

"Sail," they both said simultaneously.

"Sail Fossil it is, then," Niko said, turning to Daryl.

"Here ya go," Daryl said, lifting up the Sail Fossil and handing it to Niko, instantly reminding him of how much strength he truly lacked. "Heavy?"

"A little," Niko said, placing it back down on the table and removing his bag to make room for it. "Still heavy," he muttered as he put his bag back on. "But better."

"Good. There's a place in Ambrette Town that revives fossils, actually," Daryl said.

"Which isn't too far from here, Niko!" Warren exclaimed.

"By the way, if you three need a place to stay, by all means use our lodgings in the Pokémon Center," Daryl suggested.

"Oh, absolutely," Niko said, yawning, "I'm actually pretty tired already."

"Already!?" Charlotte said, "it's not even that late!"

"It's been a long day," Niko said. "Thanks for the suggestion, Daryl, and for the tour. We really appreciate it."

"Anytime, guys!" Daryl said, "please come back the next chance you get!"

"Will do," Niko said, waving farewell to their tour guide of the underground Roche Village before heading to the Pokémon Center. The next morning, they hoped to make it to the next stop on their journey to Cyllage City.


	13. Where icy wind dances

**Episode 13: Where icy wind dances**

"I always like looking out on the ocean," Niko said as they stood on a cliffside on the other end of Connecting Cave, watching the sea sparkle in the morning sun.

"You mentioned that when we made it to Undella Town," Charlotte replied as she looked on. She was holding Fennekin in her arms, and had Skiddo standing to her left, both looking in awe. "You've never seen the ocean before, have you?" she asked her Pokémon, both of whom shook their heads.

"That looks like Ambrette Town over there," Warren said, pointing to a city on the coast, just a couple miles north of them. "Finally made it."

"Just one step closer to Cyllage City," Niko added.

As they walked into the town, Charlotte pulled out her guidebook to look at the variety of attractions that Ambrette Town might have to offer, nothing two major ones—the Fossil Lab and the Ambrette Aquarium.

"I should probably go to the Fossil Lab to get this Sail Fossil checked out," Niko said, pointing to his bag carrying the heavy fossil he received in Roche Village.

"And I want to check out the aquarium," Charlotte said. Both then turned to Warren.

"Uh…I don't really have a preference, since we're going to go do both, right?" he said with a shrug. After thinking about it more, he suggested the aquarium, "there might be a bigger crowd later in the day, why not go when there's less people?"

"Good idea, Warren, let's go," Niko said, stopping to look around for the aquarium. Charlotte then tapped him on the shoulder and pointed him in the direction of a massive, blue-domed building on the edge of the town. "Oh, there. Thanks, Charlotte," he said.

The Ambrette Aquarium is a two-story, public aquarium with no entry fee. Niko was surprised by this when he noticed how large some of the exhibits were. A large part of the bottom floor was an outlook onto the ocean, which reminded him of the Marine Tube in Unova. There, they saw several different types of water Pokémon swimming around in the sea—wailord, Relicanth, luvdisc, seadra.

"Look at all of them, Fennekin," Charlotte said, showing the Fox Pokémon the window to the undersea world. "Isn't it cool?"

Fennekin nodded, albeit nervously. However, when she suspected Charlotte was looking she changed her expression to one that looked far more interested. Charlotte had some of her other Pokémon out to see the aquarium, since there weren't a lot of tourists at that hour. Frillish in particular looked nostalgic, since she was born and raised in the sea. At first she put a tentacle up to the glass to try and feel the Pokémon on the other side. Feeling nothing, her expression turned to one of dismay.

Larvitar in particular seemed fascinated by it, and wanted to greet the Pokémon. So he started waving eagerly, pressing his face up to the glass to get the Pokémon's attention, and nearly scared a wailmer in the process.

"You want to say hi?" Charlotte asked, crouching down. The excited Larvitar nodded, pointing to the Pokémon. "They're swimming in the water. That's how they move, like how we walk," she explained. Larvitar nodded, looking up at Charlotte in awe. "A lot of those Pokémon out there are water types, which are pretty powerful against you. So be careful when trying to get their attention, alright?"

Larvitar nodded, and kept waving to the Pokémon on the other side.

"I don't remember the last time I visited an aquarium," Niko said to Charlotte as they watched some luvdisc swim by.

"Not in your vast travels?" Charlotte asked teasingly.

"Heh, no, not one that I can remember, anyway."

"The Marine Tube is the closest thing to an aquarium that I've seen in a long time," Charlotte replied, "I went to one as a child, a long time ago. Just never got a chance to go back."

"The undersea world is incredible, though," Niko said, "and just as mysterious, if not more so."

"Agreed."

"Hey, guys?" Warren said, getting the attention of his friends, "check this out!"

"What is it?" Niko asked, turning around and walking over to Warren, just before his eyes widened. There, on the other side of the glass, was a massive, golden magikarp.

"Those are _very_ rare," Charlotte muttered, "it's amazing that no one's caught it yet."

"Maybe it's just too precious to catch," Niko said, amazed by how shiny and clean-looking the magikarp was. It reminded him of Fay's magikarp, several years ago, before it evolved into gyarados.

"What else do you two want to do?" Warren asked, "I think we've pretty much seen everything there is to see here."

"We could go to the Fossil Lab, or to the beach," Niko suggested.

"The beach does sound nice. We won't get another chance to see one for a while, I'm sure," Charlotte added. "But let's get to the Fossil Lab first, so Niko doesn't have to carry that rock anymore."

Niko chuckled nervously, tugging at the heavy bag slung around his shoulders. He was excited to see what kind of Pokémon could come out of that fossil—and if it could be as strong as his Rampardos is. Regardless of its power, he was certain that he would like it.

The Fossil Lab was just down the road from the aquarium, in the direction of the mountains to the east. Like other fossils labs Niko had been to, this one was an ordinary-looking building with two stories and a domed-roof. Walking through the glass double-doors, Niko noticed a variety of people in lab coats running around frantically, presumably looking for data of some sorts, or off to conduct experiments. While they walked through the lab, the trio got a better look at some of their machinery. One contraption looked like a Pokémon healing machine, but it had some extra features, such as robotic arms that clearly weren't working properly.

After several minutes of perusing around, a middle-aged woman approached the trio. "What are you kids doing here?"

"Well, we're not kids, for starters—" Charlotte said.

"Then what're you doing here? You're clearly not scientists of any sort that I recognize."

"We might not be in lab coats," Warren began, "but we are scientists of _fun_ ," he finished with a wink.

The room went silent.

"…anyways, I've actually got a fossil that I'd like to revive," Niko said, pulling off his bag and taking the Sail Fossil out. "If it's possible."

"Oh, that's possible, for sure," the woman said, eying the fossil. "That there will revive an Amaura for you. I could help you with that."

"I'd appreciate that, thanks," Niko said, handing the scientist the rock. She took it and proceeded into another room, with the trio closely behind. "Can we watch the revitalization happen?"

The female scientist hesitated, but eventually nodded. "Yes, that will be fine with me. But take these," she said, putting the fossil down on a nearby table in the revitalization room and grabbing four sets of goggles. "You'll need these—the lamp is too bright for the human eye to see normally. It's akin to staring into the sun."

"Oh, lovely," Niko muttered as he put on his black-lensed goggles. _Cranidos' revitalization wasn't anything like this_ , he thought.

Charlotte and Warren did the same, and soon enough the scientist—whom they learned was named Dr. Fitzpatrick—entered some commands into a computer and the machine began running. It was a large and capsule-like, with the fossil siting inside and surrounded by glass, with what looked like heat lamps underneath it. And, just moments after the machine was running, the lamps turned on, and the room was engulfed in a blinding light. This lasted for nearly a minute before the room dimmed to its original light level, and sitting in the capsule was a clearly dormant creature.

"That should be it," Dr. Fitzpatrick said, taking off her goggles and entering in a command to shut the machine down. "This right here is an amaura."

Niko looked on at the rather large Pokémon sitting inside the capsule. It looked to be only four feet or so in height and only a few feet in length, but it was hard to tell because the Pokémon was curled up in a ball, it's clearly long neck wrapping around so its head was touching its stumpy tail. Niko attempted to touch the amaura, but realized that its soft, pale blue skin was cold as ice.

"Why is it so cold?" Niko wondered. He didn't receive an immediate answer, for the amaura woke up, its massive, bug-like eyes looking up at Niko, and then at Charlotte, Warren, and Dr. Fitzpatrick. It was, for the most part, an ordinary-looking dinosaur-like Pokémon. It had a long neck, two crystal-like objects on each side of its body, and short legs and tail. It's most prominent feature, however, were the two sail-like structures, which began glowing yellow and fading into orange and finally pink, like an aurora. "It's beautiful," Niko finally said, realizing his question might not get answered.

" _Amaura, the Tundra Pokémon. Rock and ice type. This calm Pokémon lived in a cold land where there were no violent predators like Tyrantrum_ ," Niko's pokédex stated.

"This is true," Dr. Fitzpatrick said, "so it's a surprise that you found one so close by."

"So why is it's skin so cold to touch?" Niko asked a second time.

"It's used to living in cold climates," Dr. Fitzpatrick explained, "amaura and its evolution, aurorus, are only found in those biomes, and so they evolved biologically to handle only that climate. They're not used to more temperate weather, and so, if I'm guessing correctly, then this little one might be trying to self-regulate its internal temperature."

"Can they survive in temperate climates?" Niko asked.

"They can, but it's not recommended for them. Why do you ask?"

"I was, well, wondering if I could keep it."

"Of course you can—it's your fossil, after all, and we don't have room here to take care of more amauras. But I have to warn you that you need to be very careful with it, since being in warm weather isn't healthy for it."

"I'll keep that in mind, thanks," Niko said, looking at the amaura, who was now curiously looking back at him. Suddenly, it shot its head forward towards Niko, accidentally headbutting him and knocking him onto the ground. "Ow!"

"Niko! Are you alright?" Charlotte asked, crouching down to help her friend up.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Hi, Amaura," Niko said, addressing it as his own. "My name is Niko. I found you in a fossil and wanted to get a chance to meet you," he said, holding his hand out. Amaura eyed it for a moment before engulfing his hand in its mouth. Niko cringed reflexively before realizing Amaura wasn't biting down on him—it was almost sucking on his hand. "Is this normal?"

"For newborns, yes," Dr. Fitzpatrick said. "Or at least, we believe so."

"Noted. So it's a baby amaura, then?"

"Indeed it is, which is why you _must_ be careful with it—it needs time to adjust to the weather. I'd recommend teaching it some ice-type moves to help change the environment around it—icy wind and hail are good options."

"Also noted. Dr. Fitzpatrick, thank you," Niko said, pulling out a spare pokéball from his bag. "Hey Amaura, would you like to join me on my adventure? We're going around the Kalos region battling gyms and meeting new kinds of people and Pokémon. Is that something you'd be interested in?"

Amaura looked at Niko, almost with awe, before slowly nodding. Niko then held the expanded pokéball in his palm. Almost instinctively, Amaura judged the button in the middle, began to glow bright red, and went inside. The pokéball moved around in Niko's hand before making a "clicking" sound that indicated it was caught.

"That's four Pokémon now!" Warren said. "Hey, Niko, wanna see what it can do with a practice battle?"

"Sure, but we do have to be careful," Niko replied, nodding to Dr. Fitzpatrick again before exiting the Fossil Lab with his friends.

* * *

"Alright Poliwhirl, let's go!" Warren shouted, summoning his Tadpole Pokémon onto the beach. It was late afternoon by this point, and the trio decided to head to the beach so Niko and Amaura could get to know each other better.

"Amaura, I choose you!" Niko shouted, summoning the Tundra Pokémon. "This is our first battle together, alright? The goal is to defeat Warren's Pokémon, Poliwhirl. Think we can do that?" Amaura turned to Niko, almost looking nervous. "You can do it, Amaura. I believe in you. Now, let's show them what you're made of! Use icy wind!"

Amaura paused, as if unable to understand what to do. Sighing, Niko explained what icy wind was, and tried to figure out how Amaura could use it. With Charlotte's help, they learned that Amaura let out gusts of cold air from the sides of its body. Knowing this, Amaura attempted the attack, successfully doing so and unleashing a powerful gust of wind in all directions, freezing the sand and water within roughly 10 feet of itself.

"Oh…well then," Niko said, placing his foot on the ice at the edge of the water, tapping it lightly and watching it break, "guess you know something. See, Amaura, that's what it's like to use an attack. During the battle, I'll be asking you to use certain attacks that I think will help us defeat our opponent. Warren and Poliwhirl will be doing the same, since their goal is to defeat us. Got it?"

Amaura, feeling a little more confident, nodded. Warren then commanded Poliwhirl to use ice punch—a largely ineffective move, since they knew Amaura was weak to water attacks. The Tadpole Pokémon's fist chilled before he charged at Amaura. The ice punch—a relatively weak punch at that—hit Amaura in the side of the body. Despite the attack being ineffective, it startled Amaura to the point where she released another icy wind from her body and accidentally froze Poliwhirl.

"Amaura, it's alright," Niko said calmly as Charlotte summoned Fennekin to thaw out Poliwhirl. Seeing the embers fly from the Fox Pokémon further startled Amaura, who panicked once again and began running around, releasing icy wind constantly, freezing everything it touched. "Oh dear…" Niko said, running after Amaura. "Calm down!" he shouted, just as the Tundra Pokémon ran into a small blue crab-like Pokémon, who shot at water gun at Amaura's face. "Hey! Leave my Pokémon alone!" he shouted at the crab, who pointed its rather large blue claw at Niko and fired off another water gun, knocking him to the ground. The crab then turned, clearly miffed by Amaura and Niko, and scuttled off.

"Niko, you okay?" Charlotte said after running over and helping Niko up.

"Yeah, I'm alright. Amaura, are you fine?" he asked, turning to the Tundra Pokémon, who still looked frightened. "Hey," Niko said, finally touching Amaura's cold skin and doing his best to ignore how chilly it felt. "part of battling mean that you'll take some hits. They'll hurt, sometimes they'll hurt a lot, and sometimes you'll lose—we'll lose. But that will make you stronger in the end. It toughens you up. I just don't want you to get discouraged, because you're clearly stronger than you think," he said, motioning his hand out to the now half-frozen beach that Fennekin and Smeargle were busy thawing. "And part of my job as a Pokémon trainer is help you grow and get stronger. And maybe one day you'll evolve, and you'll be unbeatable. How does that sound?"

Amaura, clearly learning about the concept of strength for the first time in its life, nodded, albeit slowly as it seemed to be processing everything Niko had told it.

"This'll all make more sense the more we practice it. But always know that I believe in you," Niko said, wrapping his arms around Amaura's neck. "We're in this together."

"Niko, this is heart-warming and all but…you're turning blue," Charlotte mentioned, touching his shoulder. "You're _very_ cold now."

"Well, looks like Amaura doesn't have a problem maintaining its body temperature then…at least not yet."

"Nope. Now, c'mon, let's get you back to the Pokémon Center. I think you need to warm up a bit," Charlotte said, leading Niko, Amaura, and the rest of their group back into Ambrette Town.


	14. All that glitters

**Episode 14: All that glitters**

"How long will it take to get to Cyllage City?" Niko asked as he sat on his bed in the Pokémon Center. Warren was still asleep, and Charlotte had just woken up.

"Couple days probably. It's just up the coast from here," Charlotte replied, looking at her guidebook. "At least, that's how far it is by walking. We could take a boat there."

"I'd prefer to walk," Niko said, thinking about his motion sickness. "Plus, it'd be nice to train a bit more, for the both of us."

"Agreed."

Once Warren was awake, the trio went to stock up on some supplies that they might need for their journey to Cyllage City. Niko found plenty of sweets for Swirlix, some berries for Fletchinder, and whatever Chespin was feeling like that day. He just didn't know what Amaura would want.

"Probably something cold," Charlotte mentioned. "Remember, she needs to keep her body temperature low," Niko nodded, completely forgetting it. He elected to get some frozen berries for his newest—and youngest—Pokémon.

They exited the supermarket and out onto the edge of Ambrette Town, facing the beach. Just as Niko took a step towards the sandy surface, he heard someone yell his name Confused, Niko turned around and saw Wally running up to him.

"What the-?" Niko asked, tilting his head in bemusement.

"Niko! Niko!" Wally, the green-haired trainer Niko met back during his adventures in Hoenn, shouted. "Wow! It's really you!"

"It's really me," Niko replied. "Wha-what're you doing here? In Kalos, and in Ambrette Town?"

"I'm actually travelling the region to compete in the Kalos League!" Wally said excitedly. "I'm trying to be a better trainer, just like you!"

"Oh, eheh. Yeah," Niko said nervously. "Oh, Wally, meet my friends—Charlotte, and Warren. Guys, this is my friend Wally. He's from the Hoenn region."

The three exchanged greetings before the younger trainer—who had exchanged his white dress shirt for a pale blue coat with a white t-shirt underneath—looked at Niko in confusion. "Where's Brittany and JJ? They were with you last time, right?"

"They were. It's a long story, but they're kinda doing their own thing now. Where are you headed?"

"I'm actually going to Glittering Cave. Ever heard of it?" when Niko shook his head, Wally elaborated. "It's a cave just south of here, and what I've heard it's more of a labyrinth. But it has something I'm looking for, I think."

"What might that be?" Niko wondered.

"Ever heard of mega stones?" Wally asked.

"Of course I have. Wait…your Pokémon can mega evolve too?" Niko asked in shock.

"Yeah, supposedly my Gallade can. And it's rumored that the mega stone for Gallade is found there, so I walked here from Cyllage City in search of it."

"Huh, interesting. I'm actually looking to learn more about mega evolution, too. Charlotte here has already found one," Niko said, looking down at his friend. Charlotte pulled out the Tyranitarite from her bag and showed it to Wally.

"Woah…and what Pokémon evolves with this one?" he asked.

"Tyranitar," Charlotte replied plainly.

"Wow! That must be a strong Pokémon, then! I fought a tyranitar in Johto once. They're really strong!"

"I have a larvitar, actually," Charlotte said with a smirk, "so maybe one day I'll get to use this."

"You'll need a Key Stone for that," Wally said, opening his blue coat to reveal a long pendant slung around his neck, similar to Diantha's. A small white marble-like stone sat in the middle of it. "This is mine. I got it in Shalour City. Have you been there?"

"No, but we'll probably head there after going to Cyllage City for our next gym battle," Niko replied.

"Oh! You haven't battled Grant yet?" Niko and Charlotte shook their heads. "He's tough! I didn't use Gallade in that match—I wanted to use some different Pokémon—but he definitely gave me a run for my money. So did the gym leader in Shalour City—Korrina."

"Looks like we have our work cut out for us, then," Niko said.

"Hey, Niko, would you like to join me in going to Glittering Cave?" Wally asked. "I mean, if you're available to and all."

Niko looked at Charlotte and Warren, both of whom shrugged, indicating that they didn't particularly care, therefore throwing the decision to him. "Yeah, let's do it. I'd like to see what other mega stones look like, and what Gallade evolves into!"

"Great! This'll be so much fun!" Wally shouted happily. "We just have to go south to route 9, and it'll be about a half day's journey, is that okay?"

"Of course. We have enough supplies for a couple days," Niko said, shrugging his bag on his shoulders.

During their walk out of Ambrette Town Wally, Charlotte, and Warren all took some time to get to know one another. They didn't seem to have much in common besides a thrill for Pokémon battling, but they got along just fine from Niko's perspective.

"So what kind of Pokémon would you want to mega evolve, Niko? I know sceptile probably can!"

"That's what I heard, too. I don't know, I guess Venusaur. Since mega evolution requires a really strong bond, right?"

"It does. I think Gallade and I will be fine. It was my first Pokémon, thanks to you!" Wally said, turning to Warren and Charlotte, "Niko helped me catch my first ever Pokémon—Ralts, and encouraged me to become a trainer myself!"

"He just has that effect on people, I suppose," Charlotte said, looking up at her friend.

"Niko was a constant source of encouragement for me," Wally continued. "I've been competing in Pokémon Leagues ever since Hoenn! Like Johto and Kanto!"

"Those were my two first, actually," Niko said. "Then Hoenn. How'd you do in them?"

"Top 8 in both. It's hard getting to the semifinals!" Wally exclaimed.

"You're telling me," Niko said, rolling his eyes. "So you said you want to compete in the Kalos League? How many badges do you have?"

"Only two so far—from Shalour and Cyllage City. After this I plan on heading to Lumiose City. I heard they have a gym there, too."

"We tried to get in there," Niko mentioned, "but they want trainers to have at least four badges first. It seems like more of a recommendation, but probably for a good reason."

"I hear ya. Norman was the same way, remember?" Wally asked.

"Oh yeah, Norman…" Niko said, reminiscing on his days in Hoenn.

"Say, what's Jake been up to recently? I saw him heading to Johto a couple years back. He was just starting out, I think."

"Nah, he probably just finished competing in the Indigo League and wanted to start in another league after that," Niko said. "I don't really know what he's up to at this point. Probably going to some other region, now that he's finished up with Johto and Kanto."

"He's really grown up!" Wally exclaimed. "When I met him, he was small. Now he's—"

"Taller than I am, I know," Niko said in a mock frustrated tone.

The four continued their conversation until they reached a rough patch of Earth in front of them. The terrain ahead, presumably on route 9, was broken and uneven in several places, and frankly didn't look like it was traversable by humans.

"So…Wally," Niko said upon gazing at the path ahead, "how do you think we can get across here?"

"Honestly, I have no idea," Wally said, clearly unsure himself.

"Ya kids looking to get across?" an elderly-sounding voice called out to them. Niko and his friends all turned to see an old man sitting on a rock nearby, carefully watching them.

"Yeah, we're trying to get to Glittering Cave," Niko replied.

"Ah, I see," the man jumped off of the rock with surprising athleticism and landed on the ground gracefully. "Well, I'd recommend riding rhyhorn, then."

" _Riding_ rhyhorn?" Niko repeated. The man nodded sagely. "I—I don't know how to do that."

"Neither do I," Charlotte said. Warren and Wally expressed similar sentiments.

"I will teach you, then. Name's Winston. I'm a former rhyhorn racer, back when I was _your_ age! Yeah, and I bunch of my friends and I created this path to Glittering Cave decades ago. Figured people would appreciate it, but it looks like we made the pathway worse. So, we decided to set up a training camp nearby where travelers could learn how to ride if they so desired. You four up for it?"

"Well, we just need to get across, so whatever we need to do, I suppose," Wally said with a shrug.

"Then let's get started. It won't take too long, I figure," Winston said, leading them over to a building with a large pen to its left with rhyhorn running around inside. "That's where we keep all of our rhyhorn for transport. They're all wonderful Pokémon, truly. You'll love 'em too, I think," Winston said, taking them into the pen. There, roughly a dozen and a half rhyhorn were walking around, either playing with one another, sleeping, or simply hanging around.

"So…how do we start?" Niko asked. He had never really ridden a Pokémon before, other than Fay's Gyarados. However, that particular Pokémon knew and trusted him. These rhyhorn didn't, and so Niko believed—correctly—that the process would be different.

"Of course! So, you have to walk up to them from the front, like so," Winston said, walking up to a rhyhorn close to him. The rhyhorn, recognizing him, got lower to the ground. "See? Now, you have to grab the front of the saddle on its back, like so," he said, pointing to a handle on the front of the saddle, "and swing yourself up and over," he finished, jumping into the air and skillfully landing on top of the saddle. "Think you can do that? It isn't too difficult, just might require some practice."

The four of them nodded, with Charlotte being the only one to express any sort of reservation about the riding. Warren and Wally seemed to get a quick handle on it, managing to mount a rhyhorn on their second try. Niko got it on his fourth after struggling to jump up and over the saddle. Charlotte, being the shortest, had the most difficulty with this.

"We need to get going," Niko said, noticing Charlotte messing up. "How about this—Charlotte, you can ride with me."

"Will we both fit on a saddle?" the brunette trainer asked.

"Yes ma'am," Winston replied, "we happen to have double saddles. We'll just get one of the rhyhorn set up with one and you'll be good to go!"

* * *

"Ready?" Warren asked as Charlotte situated herself behind Niko on the saddle. They both looked over and nodded. "Great, let's head out!"

"You seemed to get this down pretty quickly, Warren," Wally mentioned as they trekked the uneven terrain of route 9. "You ever ride as a kid?"

"Nope, I guess it just came naturally to me," Warren said.

"Ever consider a job that you can use that in?" Wally asked, which surprised Niko. He knew Wally as a young kid, not as a young adult considering future employment, or really the future at all. He was growing up faster than Niko ever did. _I suppose,_ he thought, _travelling really does force you to grow up_.

The group made it to Glittering Cave within roughly half an hour. They each dismounted their rhyhorn and walked up to the cave entrance, which revealed some gemstones and crystals jutting from the walls on the inside, glowing an emerald green and shiny, pale blue colors.

"Guess this is the place," Wally said, looking up at the entrance.

"Any idea of where it might be?" Warren wondered.

"Wally, send out your Gallade," Niko suggested.

"Why?" the green-haired trainer asked, turning to Niko.

"Pokémon can sense their mega stones," Niko explained, "that's how we found the Tyranitarite. Larvitar found it."

"Interesting. I didn't think of that," Wally replied with wonder. "Gallade, I choose you!" he shouted, summoning the Blade Pokémon. It took a look around before recognizing Niko and waving cheerfully. "Didn't know if Gallade remembered you. Guess so!"

"Well, it did have to battle Sceptile. That was a pretty epic battle," Niko said. "Hey, Gallade."

"So buddy, we're looking for your mega stone, remember? This is the cave it's said to be in. Niko says that you might be able to sense where it is. Can you feel it yet?"

Gallade simply shook his head before turning to Glittering Cave. He then took a step forward and, with Wally entered the cave. Looking at one another, the trio went in after them.

The cave's inside was awe-inspiring. A green, moss-like substance covered the walls, giving the tunnels a eerie green glow. Occasionally, crystals protruded out from all possible directions, illuminating any dark spots. Charlotte recognized the green substance as Luminous Moss, and defined it as something that Pokémon could actually hold in battle.

Their slow-moving tour suddenly picked up the pace when, out of nowhere, Gallade stopped, as if he heard something far off in the distance, and then broke into a run down the tunnel. "Gallade, wait!" Wally shouted before grabbing the side of his bag and running off as well. Seeing no other option, Niko and his friends did the same.

Minutes into their sprint Charlotte let out a scream, as a machop jumped out from the left side of the tunnel to attack, presumably since it was just as startled by the trio as they were of it.

"Swirlix, fairy wind!" Niko shouted, summoning the Cotton Candy Pokémon. Swirlix unleashed a sparkling gust of wind at the machop, blowing it backwards and into the side of the tunnel wall. "Thanks buddy, return," Niko said, pulling out Swirlix's pokéball while still running.

After taking several twists and turns through the tunnels, eventually the trio made it into a larger room. To the side were abandoned minecarts sitting on rails that led in and out of several different tunnels. There, in the middle of the room, they noticed Wally and Gallade standing there, looking around.

"I take it you haven't found it yet?" Niko asked.

"Don't think so. Gallade, is it here?" Wally asked. The Blade Pokémon nodded before turning to the right, opposite the minecarts. There, inside one of the protruding crystals in the wall, sat a small, foggy white marble-like object with a forest green and rose red curved strip in the center. "That's it?"

"It's inside the crystal," Niko said. Wally nodded, and asked Gallade to cut the crystal off of the wall. He obliged and, using psycho cut, sliced the crystal clean in half, letting it fall to the ground before shattering, leaving the mega stone encased in uneven, jagged crystal.

"We'll have to get this refined somehow, but here we are, Gallade," Wally said, holding the mega stone in his two hands. "Now, what do we do?" he asked, turning to Niko and his friends. All three shrugged in response. "Huh…Gallade, what do you think?"

The Blade Pokémon also shrugged, but after a minute or so he decided to touch the mega stone himself, which caused a bright light to illuminate around them, orange tendrils erupting from the Galladite. And, moments after the interaction, a new Pokémon appeared, looking similar to Gallade. Now, Wally's Pokémon looked very different. Red plates emerged on Gallade's arms, and helmet and cape-like protrusions on its head and back gave him a knightly appearance.

"Wow…" Wally said in awe, "Gallade, you look incredible!"

Gallade simply nodded before turning to an open space and using leaf blade, cutting clean through the air. Niko and his friends could feel the power of the attack, even though they were over a dozen feet away and in the opposite direction of the attack.

"Looks like Gallade will be a formidable opponent in the future," Niko said with a smirk. "I look forward to battling him."

"You do?" Wally asked excitedly.

"Of course. Maybe not right now, though, since my Pokémon aren't strong enough to compete with Gallade, much less Mega Gallade, but one day," Niko said with a smile. "We're gonna have another rematch, Wally, I promise you that."

"Thanks, Niko," Wally said, just as Gallade reverted to his previous form, and mega stone falling to the floor in the process.

* * *

The group was able to make it back to Winston's rhyhorn pen and subsequently Ambrette Town by early evening. The four of them went to the Pokémon Center to rest after the long day.

"Say, Niko," Wally asked, "want to battle me?"

"Right now?" Niko asked curiously. When Wally nodded, he smirked. "Sure."

"I won't use Gallade, but I kinda want to see what kind of Pokémon you've caught out here," Wally said, looking more interested than ambitious about defeating Niko. After they finished eating, the four trainers went out onto the practice battlefield for a one-on-one Pokémon match.

"Ready, Wally?" Niko asked, holding a pokéball in his hands. The green-haired trainer nodded. "Chespin, I choose you!"

"Helioptile, let's go!" Wally shouted, summoning a small, lizard-like Pokémon. It had a tapering tail, short legs, and small feet with three pointed toes on each foot. Its body was pale yellow, while its feet and the tip of its tail are black. The top of its head was black as well with a small triangular yellow patch between the eyes. It had two long, black-pointed frills with yellow tips hanging from the sides of its head, which can stiffen and unfold. Lastly, it had large eyes with blue irises and white pupils.

" _Helioptile, the Generator Pokémon. Electric and normal type. They make their home in deserts. They can generate their energy from basking in the sun, so eating food is not a requirement_ ," Charlotte's pokédex read.

"Helioptile, use charge!" Wally commanded. Electric sparks surrounded the Generator Pokémon, just as Niko commanded his Chespin to use rollout. "Dodge, and use thunder wave!"

Skillfully, Helioptile leapt into the air, high above the rolling Chespin and, spinning vertically, conjured a wave of electricity that struck Chespin, knocking him out of the rollout and onto the ground, paralyzed.

"Quick attack!" Wally shouted. Helioptile crashed into Chespin with blinding speed before somersaulting through the air.

 _This thing is stupidly fast…_ Niko said to himself. "Chespin, vine whip!" he called out, albeit in vain. Chespin struggled just to get back up.

"Helioptile, razor wind!" Wally shouted. The generator Pokémon conjured several light blue blades of air and threw them at Chespin, whipping up dust clouds around the Spiny Nut Pokémon. Once the dust dissipated, Niko found his Pokémon unable to battle.

"Return, Chespin," Niko said, slightly in shock. _Wally got much better._ "Well done, Wally."

"Thanks, Niko!" Wally exclaimed as Helioptile crawled up on his shoulder. "'I really appreciate it!"

"Well, it's well deserved. You're a great trainer," Niko added, walking up to shake his friend's—and rival's—hand. "Can't wait to meet up again."

"Always looking forward to it!" Wally said with a wide grin on his face. "And maybe next time Gallade can battle!"

"Heh, hopefully," Niko said, turning to Charlotte and Warren. "Well, we need to get to bed soon. Got a long trip ahead of us."

"Same here!" Wally said, looking at Helioptile. "Lumiose City is really far away."

"Yeah, you can say that again," Niko said, rolling his eyes again. "Anyway, catch ya later, Wally."

"Bye Niko! Bye Charlotte and Warren!" Wally said, waving to his friends as they went back into the Pokémon Center. Now, Niko found himself with three rivals in the Kalos region.


	15. Click-clack clauncher!

**Episode 15: Click-clack clauncher!**

"Chespin! Rollout! Amaura, icy wind!" Niko commanded before watching two of his Pokémon strike at one another. Chespin managed to hit Amaura in the side with rollout, but was immediately blown away by the icy wind, knocking him into the sand at the edge of the ocean. "Well done, both of you! Chespin, we need to work on your speed somehow, but otherwise you did great. Amaura, I'm very proud of how you took that hit and how you used icy wind. It was well executed."

Niko turned to Fletchinder and Swirlix, who were battling one another as well. The Ember Pokémon's fire moves were getting increasingly stronger, but the release was still not up to the speed it should be. Swirlix, on the other hand, seemed to be doing quite well for herself with fairy wind and cotton spore.

"Think you have a chance against Grant now?" Warren asked as he walked up to Niko, who was carefully observing Chespin's second attempt at rollout, which resulted in another blowback from icy wind.

"I think so. We've still got some time, too," Niko replied. "Plus, I think I have an idea of what type of Pokémon he uses, which makes all of this a little easier."

"Oh, really?" Warren asked, looking curious. "Which type?"

"Well, he loves rock climbing, right? So I'd imagine it's either rock, ground, or steel types," Niko explained.

"He's right, actually," Charlotte said as she got up from the sandy surface she was sitting on to walk over to them, "Grant uses rock types. At least, according to my guidebook."

"Oh, then _you_ should have an easy time, I think," Warren said.

"I sure hope so," Charlotte replied, looking over at Deerling and Skiddo, who were napping; Frillish was floating around the water, and Fennekin and Larvitar were chasing each other around on the beach. "Most of these Pokémon can handle rock types. Just depends on which rock types he uses."

"That's true," Niko said, watching Chespin get back up and attempt rollout a fourth time before storming off in frustration. "Oh, dear…" he added as he walked over to Chespin to calm him down.

"This is the third time Niko's had to do this since Chespin started listening to him," Warren said as he and Charlotte watched Niko sit down next to the Spiny Nut Pokémon and, presumably, calm him down.

"Guess whatever he's saying is falling on deaf ears," Charlotte replied.

"Possibly. Or Chespin is listening, but just needs more practice than most Pokémon. After all, because he didn't listen to Niko for a while, he has a lot of catching up to do relative to Fletchinder or even Swirlix," Warren reasoned.

"Everyone learns at their own pace. Niko knows that quite well, I'm sure," Charlotte said in a sagely manner. "Chespin's lucky to have him as a trainer."

"Yeah…he is…" Warren replied slowly. "So are your Pokémon. For a beginner, it seems like you're doing pretty well."

"I hope so. It's a lot to handle. Usually beginning trainers have a few Pokémon at a time. I have six, many of whom aren't accustomed to battling. It's a lot to juggle. But Niko does it so well."

"He's had five years to hone those training and battling skills…you've had one. Maybe half a year, actually," Warren said, patting her on the shoulder. "You're getting much better, if it matters."

"It does," Charlotte said with a smile. "It really does."

The trio's journey to Cyllage City was coming to and end, with only a stretch of beach left before Niko and Charlotte's second gym battle. The three of them took it slow, spending more time training than walking. Plus, they wouldn't have much of the beach during the rest of their journey, since most of the Kalos region was further inland.

Charlotte, who hadn't seen much of the beach until they arrived in Undella Town, back in the Unova region, seemed to be enjoying it more than she thought. The air was fresh, the water clean and sparkling, and the sand was coarse but not so coarse that it was irritating to the touch. It was also a unique training ground for Niko and Charlotte, as some of their Pokémon weren't quite accustomed to the sandy surface. Larvitar, in particular, initially had difficulty running, and often fell face-first into the ground.

During their time on the beach, Charlotte and Warren kept up with their side hobbies. Now, Charlotte was working on a sketch of her Skiddo, who spent a considerable amount of time posing for his new trainer. Warren, on the other hand, continued to chronicle their adventures, spending nearly a day working on their adventure to Glittering Cave with Wally. In particular, he paid specific attention to Niko and Wally retelling some of their adventures in the Hoenn region, particularly their battle in the Ever Grande Conference that landed the latter in the Top 16 placement.

Meanwhile, Niko watched as his friends worked tirelessly on their new hobbies, wondering if he should pick up something on the side as well. While petting Amaura that evening, he decided to pull out the book he bought in Santalune City and began reading to his Pokémon, reciting a story of the legendary Pokémon, Xerneas and Yveltal. After a while, Amaura fell asleep, her head resting on his lap.

"Well, guess I'm not going anywhere," Niko said, looking down at the peaceful Tundra Pokémon.

"No, not really," Charlotte said. "She really likes you."

"Yeah, I like her too," Niko said, looking down on Amaura fondly. As far as caring for Pokémon went, this one in particular would be more high maintenance than virtually any of the other Niko has had to care for. "It's weird, I think, that I've caught a lot of Pokémon since my last gym battle. Usually I tend to find them throughout my journeys, but it just so happened that I found so many different types so quickly."

"I hear you," Charlotte said, quickly eying Warren, who was fast asleep next to Poliwhirl, "I have a full team of Pokémon now. Didn't expect that!"

"Must be hard training all of them, right?"

"Kinda. I've gotten used to it. And I think it makes me a better trainer in the long run."

"It sorta does, I guess. You learn how to multitask different needs and goals early on. That's helpful."

"But…what if I neglect one Pokémon over another?" Charlotte asked, almost nervously.

"You won't, Charlotte. You're not that kind of person," Niko said softly, lowering his voice to not wake Amaura up.

"Thanks, Niko. I never want to be that person. Like Hunter, or Team Plasma."

"You want Pokémon for growth, not necessarily for power. That's what separates trainers, and their goals in life."

"You're pretty wise, you know that?" Charlotte asked with a smirk.

"Pfft, not even."

"You are!" Charlotte said, raising her voice and laughing.

"I don't believe you," Niko replied, raising an eyebrow in mock surprise. "I'm just as flawed a trainer as you, or Warren, or even the World Champion, whoever they are."

"I don't see it that way at all," Charlotte said with a soft "hmph."

"Well, that's just too bad," Niko said with a wink before reaching for Amaura's pokéball and returning her for that night. "Figured I should get around to doing that," he said, standing up to stretch before pulling out a sleeping bag. "Goodnight, Charlotte."

"Night, Niko," Charlotte said. "I'm going to leave the fire on for a bit longer, if that's alright."

"Perfectly fine with me."

* * *

Niko awoke to Warren and Charlotte standing by the edge of the water, watching the waves roll in at sunrise. He sat up to watch them as well before pulling out a pokéball and summoning Amaura.

"Let's go for a run, alright?" Niko asked. The Tundra Pokémon nodded, and the two quickly broke into a jog down the coastline towards the south, where they had come from just a day prior. Niko was surprised at how fast Amaura was when she got into it enough, as she was keeping pace with him quite easily. "You're…fast…Amaura," Niko said, panting a little. She turned to her trainer and nodded joyfully, just as she ran into a rock half her size, nearly breaking it. "Amaura!"

Niko came to a stop in the sand, suddenly feeling sand particles seep into his sneakers. Turning, he saw Amaura dizzily stand back up, shaking her head quickly. However, she wasn't the only one confused. A small, blue crab-like creature scuttled out from under the rock, looking irritated. It stared at Niko, and then Amaura, and quickly shot what looked like water gun at the latter, knocking her backwards.

"What the?" Niko asked, whipping out his pokédex:

" _Clauncher, the Water Gun Pokémon. Water type. Through controlled expulsions of internal gas, it can expel water like a pistol shot. At close distances, it can shatter rock_."

"Amaura!" Niko shouted, running over to feel where the Tundra Pokémon got hit. "You look fine… _are_ you fine?" she nodded, albeit slowly, before craning her head towards her side to reveal cold mist emanating from it. "Wow…that was a quick release time for icy wind then, eh? Well done!" he then turned to the clauncher.

Clauncher was a blue/cyan crustacean Pokémon with two yellow antennae atop its head. It had two claws: one of which formed a single, sharp point, while the other was significantly larger, with two parts forming a classic pincer. The lower part of the pincer was smaller and yellow. It had black-grey stripes along the end of each abdominal segment and around its claws. It had four small legs that were curved and came to a point. It had three pointed mouthparts, yellow eyes that were half-open, and two small, trapezoidal tail-parts protruding from its lower abdomen.

It angrily snapped its pincer at Niko, making a loud _click-clack_ sound before leaping high into the air and diving down at him and Amaura, the pincer glowing bright white.

"Vicegrip…Amaura, use icy wind!" Niko shouted. Instead, the Tundra Pokémon summoned a rock from out of nowhere and shot it at clauncher, who was repelled across the beach several feet away. "Rock throw? You know that too?" Niko asked in surprise. When Amaura nodded, the two stood up. "Alright then. Amaura, use rock throw!"

Amaura conjured a second rock and launched it at clauncher, who ripped through the rock with water gun like it was wet paper. This gave Niko an idea.

"Amaura, we're going to catch it," Niko whispered to his Pokémon, who nodded. "Wait for it to attack again…"

Clauncher scuttled forward with unusually fast legs before leaping into the air and shooting out another water gun, to which Niko and Amaura retaliated with rock throw to block the attack. Amaura then fought back with icy wind, which blew the relatively light clauncher backwards, giving her and her trainer some time.

Minutes later, Niko noticed Charlotte and Warren running over to him. "Niko! What happened? We heard you shouting," Warren asked in a panic, panting a little as well.

"We got caught up in a scuffle with this clauncher. But it looks powerful, so I'm going to try and catch it," Niko said.

"Catch it? Why?" Charlotte wondered.

"Watch it use water gun. Amaura, rock throw!" Niko shouted instinctively, just as the Water Gun Pokémon shot Amaura with a burst of water. The rock throw blocked the attack, but burst open in the process. Charlotte and Warren dropped their mouths in awe from the power of clauncher's attack.

"That'll help you—"

"—against Grant, I know," Niko turned to Charlotte with a smirk. "Amaura, use rock throw!" he shouted once more. However, he didn't seem able to catch the Pokémon off guard. "There has to be some way to slow it down, even just a little…"

Amaura, hearing this, shouted to the heavens, just as the sails on her head began to glimmer like an aurora. Niko's eyes widened at the scene. The sails then generated sparks of electricity, and Amaura fired them at the unsuspecting clauncher, paralyzing it.

"You know thunder wave, too!?" Niko shouted happily. Amaura turned and nodded. "Well then, let's go! Use rock throw!" Amaura conjured a rock out of thin air and threw it at the clauncher. "Now, icy wind!" Niko added. Amaura blew clauncher further back, watching as the electricity paralyzing the Water Gun Pokémon reacted with the cold air. "Now, pokéball…"

"Niko, wait!" Charlotte shouted, just as Niko was about to use a pokéball. "I have a better idea. Use a net ball."

"A net…ball…?" Niko asked curiously.

"Yeah, they help increase the likelihood of catching a water or bug type Pokémon," Charlotte said, jogging off to her bag to grab a net ball. She returned to Niko and tossed it to him. "Give it a try!"

"Alright," Niko said, slightly unsure. He turned back to clauncher, and threw the net ball at the Water Gun Pokémon. It was a white and teal-colored pokéball with black bands running across the top half to resemble a net. Once it opened, a holographic net burst out, engulfing clauncher and sending it into the ball. It fell onto the sand, wiggled a few times, and then made a _click_ sound to indicate a successful capture.

"See? Told you!" Charlotte said playfully.

"I didn't doubt you. Thanks, Charlotte," Niko said, walking over to pick up the net ball amidst the shards of rock surrounding them. "Look Amaura, we caught something! Another addition to our team, and a new friend."

Amaura looked at the net ball with pride, knowing that she made it possible with her thunder wave attack. Niko then summoned clauncher back out to speak with it for the first time as its trainer.

"Hey Clauncher, I'm Niko. I'm your trainer now. You seemed strong, and I wanted you to join me, my friends, and my other Pokémon on a journey. We'd be battling other, far more powerful trainers in pursuit of being the very best. Are you up for that?"

Clauncher looked up at Niko with its eyes half open, which made it difficult to determine how it was feeling. Clauncher eventually nodded, snapping its claw to make a _click-clack_ sound. It turned to Amaura and did the same. The Tundra Pokémon nodded happily, indicating to Niko that the two were becoming friends.

"Alright guys," Niko said, placing his hands on his hips. "Let's get to Cyllage City!"

"You ready to challenge Grant?" Warren asked curiously.

"Getting there. Charlotte?" Niko asked, turning to his female companion, who seemed almost surprised to hear him addressing her. "You ready too?"

"Of course, Niko," Charlotte replied with a smile. "Let's go win this."


	16. Climbing a wall of fear!

**Episode 16: Overcoming a wall of fear**

After what ended up being several weeks, the trio finally arrived in Cyllage City for Niko and Charlotte's second gym battle. Cyllage City was a coastal city like Ambrette Town. Its roads were lain with bricks, presumably made from the underground Roche Village. Niko, Charlotte, and Warren entered the town around midday and immediately went to the Pokémon Center to heal up their Pokémon.

"Clauncher sure eats a lot," Charlotte commented as they fed their Pokémon near a booth in the Pokémon Center lobby. The dozen or so Pokémon all ate their fill, with Niko's Clauncher eating by far the most, falling backwards with a look of satisfaction in his half-opened yellow eyes.

"Guess he doesn't eat much normally," Niko replied, walking over to Clauncher, who eyed his new trainer with skepticism. "Well, I know what you like to eat now. Raw seafood, right?"

Clauncher looked at Niko carefully before nodding. Niko then turned and watched Swirlix eat her candies, Chespin and Fletchinder berries, and Amaura ate some plants Niko found at the bottom of some cliffs near the beach that morning.

"I should learn how to make actual pokéfood," Niko said, turning to Charlotte and Warren. "Usually it was JJ who made that stuff. Oddly enough, I never took him to be a cook before we went on our journey."

"Well, we can help you. If you want, that is," Charlotte said with a soft smile. "I'd like to learn as well."

"Same here. We could make a day out of it, actually!" Warren said. "After your gym battles, of course."

"Right. We've still got those ahead of us," Niko said, turning back to his team. Unlike his battle against Viola, he felt much more confident about the upcoming battle against Grant.

* * *

The Cyllage City Gym was to the north of the city, in a massive, towering building that rose as high as the hills to the east. Upon walking inside, this made sense—a climbing wall was placed in the center of the gym, which seemed to lack a ceiling. The climbing wall was separated into several smaller walls, with a path running to each one on flat, stable ground. The top of the climbing wall must have been nearly a hundred yards up vertically. And, at the top, Niko and Charlotte recognized their opponent—Grant.

"Heya!" the gym leader shouted as he waved from the top of the wall. "I remember you three! Welcome to my gym!"

"We would like to request a match with you!" Niko shouted.

"I accept. But! I usually prefer to have my challengers climb up to me!" Grant shouted. "If you're up to it, that is."

Niko turned to Charlotte, for once a look of sheer fear appeared on his face. _I'm afraid of heights…_ he thought to himself.

"Niko…I don't think I can do that," Charlotte said, turning and looking back at the wall. "I'm worried I'll fall."

"So am I," Niko muttered.

"If you can't, then no worries! I'll accept your challenge nevertheless," Grant said, presumably sensing fear in his two challengers.

Niko took a deep breath. _No. My Pokémon would expect better from me. Chespin, Fletchinder, Swirlix, Amaura, and Clauncher. I'm their trainer, and I have to show that I'm as tough as they are._ "I'll do it."

Charlotte eyes widened as she felt, even for a moment, that Niko shared her fear. It was clear to her that he didn't. She looked down at the floor in shame. _I can't go through with it, but I have to! I can't just let Niko upstage me. But what if I fall and hurt myself? What if I let down my Pokémon?_ She watched as Niko took several steps forward and reached towards the nearest rock—a yellow, curved piece of stone shaped in a curved way that allowed for easier climbing. Niko then hoisted himself up, grabbing a higher rock—this time a purple one—with his spare hand. Charlotte watched as he continued going up, nearly slipping once or twice, but making it past the first wall with relative ease.

"Charlotte…you going to go for it?" Warren asked.

"I don't know if I can…" she said worriedly.

"You can!" Charlotte looked up to see Niko turning around and looking down at her. "If I can do it, so can you!"

"But…Niko, I'm afraid!"

"So am I! But look at me!" Niko said, having just completed the second wall. "Do you want me to come back down and help you up?"

"No, I—I think I can do this…" Charlotte said, taking a deep breath before approaching the wall. _Niko did it, so can I. I can do this for my Pokémon…_

Charlotte then took her first step up the climbing wall, raising herself up with her arms. Slowly, but surely, she made it up, just as Niko began the third and final wall. However, she suddenly slipped and began falling back down.

"Charlotte!" Warren shouted. "Leavanny, catch Charlotte!" he said, thrusting a pokéball at the ground. The Nurturing Pokémon erupted out to catch her friend, who nearly landed on her back. "Are you alright?"

"Charlotte?" Niko asked, turning around midway through the final wall. He noticed his friend sitting on the ground, and in that moment Niko wanted to give up this rock climbing challenge to see if Charlotte was alright. But he steeled himself and remembered why he needed to continue. _For my Pokémon. And, well, for Charlotte too_.

"I'm alright…" Charlotte said, looking down at the ground. She felt tears welling up inside her eyelids, but she repressed them. She couldn't give up. But she wanted to. "I'll…I'll just find another way up, I guess."

"There's an elevator to the side," Grant said from above, pointing to the elevator off to the right of the gym.

Charlotte nodded and walked over there with Warren and Leavanny, feeling disappointed in herself. _I'm better than this! I'm better than this! Why can't I do anything right?_ she shouted to herself. By the time she made it up to the top of the gym, she noticed Niko already standing there, panting. She wanted, more than anything, to run over and congratulate him, but she couldn't bring herself to it. She was too angry with herself.

"Congrats for making it up here, Niko," Grant said. "I'm always impressed by trainers who make it up."

"Well, you should be more impressed with some of the trainers who aren't," Niko said, briefly eying Charlotte, "since some of them are going to beat you, too."

"I don't doubt it. Now, Niko, my gym's rules are a little different. I will be using three Pokémon, but you may use as many as you'd like."

"What?" Niko asked in surprise. "Why is that?"

"I like challengers to come at me with everything they've got," Grant said with a grin. "Now, will you or Charlotte go first?" Niko looked to Charlotte, who motioned for him to go. Nodding, Niko relayed this to Grant. "Excellent! Luckily, we have a Pokémon League referee around today!" he said, pointing to the referee who was ready on the sidelines.

While the ref was explaining the rules of the match, Niko thought about his potential strategy, knowing that he could use all five of his Pokémon. _Best to start off strong_ , he thought to himself. He waited for Grant to begin, sending out an onix. _Familiar enough_. "Chespin, I choose you!" Niko shouted.

"Onix, use rock tomb!" Grant commanded. The rock snake conjured pointed rocks from midair and threw them down towards Chespin, who managed to roll out of the way as the rocks formed a tomb-like structure. "Iron tail!"

"Chespin, rollout!" Niko shouted, knowing that it might not be effective, but it would at least get Chespin closer. "Now, leap into the air and use vine whip!"

"Onix, flash cannon!" Grant commanded. Onix opened its maw and unleashed a bright flash of light that nearly hit Chespin, who managed to evade by wrapping his vine whip around Onix's neck and swinging downwards towards its throat.

"Rollout!" Niko shouted. The Spiny Nut Pokémon swung downwards and broke into a roll, striking at Onix just below its head before quickly descending to the ground. _Let's see if we can try something different-ish._ "Chespin, rollout towards me!"

"What's he doing?" Warren asked aloud. He had an idea, but wasn't entirely sure.

"Alright buddy, we're going to try something that I haven't done in a long time. Are you with me?" Niko asked. He was surprised that Chespin was listening to him, all of the sudden. The Spiny Nut Pokémon turned to him and nodded confidently. "I'm glad we can finally battle together. Regardless of whether we win, I _am_ proud of you."

Chespin nodded, and turned back to Onix.

"Now buddy, use vine whip on the rock tomb over there! Wrap your vines around it and swing to the left!" Niko called out. Chespin obliged, using rollout to provide him with some early momentum before breaking out and using vine whip to swing himself around the rock tomb. Fortunately, Grant's Onix used another rock tomb that missed, which allowed Chespin to swing from the first tomb to the new one, providing himself with more momentum. He kept this up for a couple more rocks, until Niko shouted for him to swing completely around the closest one and let go. Chespin launched forward towards Onix. "Rollout!"

"Flash cannon!" Grant shouted. Onix lowered its head and belted out a beam of blinding light from its maw that hit Chespin just as the latter struck with rollout. Both Pokémon collapsed onto the ground, forcing dust to erupt upwards. Once it settled, Onix managed to rise from the ground, but Chespin couldn't.

"Chespin is unable to battle, Onix is the winner! Challenger Niko will send out his second Pokémon!" The judge declared.

"Chespin, return. Like I said, I'm still very proud of you," Niko said, exchanging pokéballs. "Clauncher, I choose you!"

"Onix, be careful," Grant said. "We've dealt with tough water types before. This will be no different. Use rock tomb!"

"Water gun!" Niko shouted. As expected, the burst of water—a result of pressure building up in Clauncher's claw—shot at the several pieces of rock tomb and shattered each one. "Bubblebeam!"

Without moving, Clauncher then pointed his large claw at Onix and fired off a steady stream of bubbles at his opponent, who blocked with flash cannon before using a move called rock polish.

"Iron tail!" Grant commanded. This time, Onix managed to nearly strike Clauncher, who jumped into the air to dodge the low-sweeping iron tail. "Rock tomb!"

"Water gun at Onix!" Niko shouted, knowing fully well that the rock tomb might hit this time. However, before it did, Onix was struck with the water gun and fell backwards onto the ground. Clauncher, unexpectedly, raised his claw into the air and shot at the rock tomb to minimize the damage he would take, which Niko didn't command him to do. _Smart Pokémon…_ Niko thought to himself.

"Onix is unable to battle, Clauncher is the winner! Grant will now send out his second Pokémon!" the referee declared.

"Amaura, I choose you!" the gym leader shouted, summoning a very familiar Pokémon. "Use thunder wave!"

"We've dealt with this before! Use water gun and block it!" Niko shouted. Clauncher nodded, raising his claw to shoot a burst of water to repel the electric sparks emanating from Amaura's sails. This resulted in an explosion in the middle of the field. "You're faster, Clauncher! Use vice grip!"

"Aurora beam!" Grant commanded. Just as Clauncher scuttled across the field, Amaura summoned a beam of rainbow-colored energy at him. Clauncher managed to dodge it before getting hit by a second beam, knocking him backwards. "Thunderwave!"

"Block with water gun!" Niko shouted. Clauncher shot out another water gun, but was caught in the resulting explosion. "Alright…Clauncher, use vice grip on the ground!"

"What the!?" Warren said as he watched the Water Gun Pokémon launch himself into the air. "Oh…I see it now."

Clauncher rose into the air using the force from a vicegrip into the ground. Niko then instructed him to fire off another water gun, which managed to strike Amaura. "Vice grip!"

Clauncher shot down towards Amaura, his large claw glowing a bright white. In retaliation, Grant commanded his Pokémon to use aurora beam. Fortunately, Clauncher managed to break through the attack and strike Amaura.

"Bubblebeam up close!" Niko called out. Clauncher, having landed on the ground just in front of his opponent, fired off a powerful stream of bubbles that knocked the Tundra Pokémon backwards. "Finish it off with water gun!"

"Aurora beam!" Grant commanded. However, Clauncher proved to be much faster, striking Amaura in the chest with a high-pressured blast of water, knocking his opponent backwards and onto the ground.

"Amaura is unable to battle, Clauncher is the winner! Leader Grant will now send out his third and final Pokémon!" the referee declared.

"Return, Amaura. And well done, Niko! That Clauncher of yours is quite powerful!"

"Thanks! He's new, actually," Niko said, looking down at the Water Gun Pokémon, who looked pleased with himself.

"I can see he has a bright future ahead as a battler. However, this may be the end of the line. Tyrunt, you're up!" Grant shouted. Out of his pokéball came a small dinosaur-like Pokémon. Its body was gray-brown, with a lighter shade of gray on its belly and lower jaw. The back had a peaked hump on it, and the tail is short and pointed. Its arms were tiny, but its legs were far more robust. Spiky, white structure extended from the back of the neck. Its head was large, with a ridged snout and what looked like a powerful jaw. Two pointed teeth were on the lower jaw, and the upper jaw featured tooth-like projections on either side and a slightly-decurved hook on the end. Lastly, its eyes were large, white, and semicircular with a black border along the lower half.

" _Tyrunt, the Royal Heir Pokémon. Rock and dragon type. This Pokémon was restored from a fossil. If something happens that it doesn't like, it throws a tantrum and runs wild_ ," Charlotte's pokédex read.

"Dragon type…?" she asked nervously. _How am I going to defeat something like that?_

"Clauncher, water gun!" Niko commanded.

"Block with rock tomb!" Grant shouted, seeming to understand that it wouldn't do damage to Clauncher. "Now, use crunch!"

"Vice grip!" Niko commanded. The Water Gun Pokémon scuttled forward, its large claw glowing brightly. It leapt forward to strike at Tyrunt, who simply engulfed the claw within its mouth and crunched down. Clauncher cried out from the two jaws clamping down on it, which made it difficult to concentrate on any attacks. "Water gun!" Niko shouted, but his command fell on deaf ears. Tyrunt threw Clauncher to the side, launching it into a rock that shattered upon contact. "Bubblebeam…?"

"Draco meteor!" Grant commanded. Niko's eyes widened at the attack.

 _Powerful dragons know that move. How does…?_ "Clauncher, watch out!" Niko shouted, just as Tyrunt's mouth began to glow bright orange, and a massive orb fired directly into the air before bursting nearly fifty feet above them. Smaller orange spheres fell towards the ground with glowing tails that reminded Niko of real meteors. Clauncher, for his part, tried to dodge them, but found himself struck by one after another. "Clauncher!"

"Clauncher is unable to battle, Tyrunt is the winner! Challenger Niko will send out his next Pokémon!" the referee declared.

"Return, buddy. I'm very proud of you," _Think Niko, Think!_ He thought to himself. _I have Amaura, Fletchinder, and Swirlix. Fletchinder won't do very well against rock moves, and neither will Amaura. But amaura can use ice moves…and Swirlix can use fairy moves…wait! Fairy Pokémon are immune to dragon type moves!_

"This battle is firing me up, Niko!" Grant shouted. "I haven't had a battle this exciting in a long time!"

"It's about to get a little more exciting. Swirlix, I choose you!" Niko shouted, summoning the Cotton Candy Pokémon. "Use fairy wind!"

"Block with rock tomb!" Grant called out, just like he did against Clauncher. The attack was successful in blocking against the super-effective sparkling wind, but not enough to stop Swirlix's onslaught. "Rock tomb again!"

"Swirlix, dodge and use cotton spore!" Niko commanded. The fairy type summoned small white balls from its body, watching as they floated through the air towards Tyrunt, who attempted to block them with dragon tail. No such luck, and the Royal Heir Pokémon's tail was covered in small white balls of cotton. "Again! And follow up with fairy wind!" Niko shouted.

Swirlix conjured more white balls of cotton and floated them towards Tyrunt, who anxiously attempted to block each one or evade it in some way. However, the cotton slowly began to weigh it down, and Swirlix struck with a second fairy wind to knock the rock and dragon type Pokémon to the ground.

"Tyrunt…?" Grant asked. "Can you get up?"

Tyrunt attempted to, but the cotton spore was slowing it down. To be sure, Swirlix finished it off with a third and final fairy wind that ended the match.

"Tyrunt is unable to battle, Swirlix is the winner! And the victory goes to Niko from Pallet Town!" the referee declared, and Niko let out a breath of relief.

"Well done, Swirlix," Niko said, opening his arms wide for his Cotton Candy Pokémon to embrace him. "Oh, that's right…" he said as he tried to let go of Swirlix. "You're sticking to me, as usual…" he said before returning the fairy type. Niko then turned to Charlotte, who had stood up to replace him. Grant then repelled off of his end of the battlefield, presumably to heal up his Pokémon.

"Good job, Niko," Charlotte said with a nervous smile.

"You're going to do just fine, too," Niko said as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "I believe in you."

"Thanks. I guess I need to believe in myself, though," Charlotte said.

"Are you referring to that climbing wall?" Niko asked.

She nodded. "I'm really disappointed in myself."

"Don't be. Think about it—some people actually can't make it up here."

"What're you trying to say?" Charlotte asked defensively, giving Niko a frustrated glare.

"I—I didn't mean to imply—"

"It's fine. I need to forget about it anyways," Charlotte said, moving past Niko to take her place at her end of the field, leaving Niko to join Warren in the stands.

Soon enough, Grant returned with his Pokémon healed up and ready to go. Charlotte's hand—pokéball in her palm—began to shake as the referee explained the rules of the match. She knew, of course, what Grant's Pokémon were. But that didn't make things any easier.

But she had to remember that she was a Pokémon trainer, and her team depended on her.

"Onix, I choose you!"

"Skiddo, let's go!" Charlotte shouted, summoning the Mounting Pokémon. "This is our first battle together! Let's go!" she called out. "Razor leaf!"

"Onix! Rock tomb!" Grant commanded. The Rock Snake Pokémon summoned slabs of rock from midair that aimed to land on Skiddo, who managed to dodge it and summon a flurry of sharp green leaves from the bush on his torso. Onix took the hit and fell backwards, albeit briefly, before rising back up and using flash cannon on Grant's orders.

"Skiddo, dodge and use leech seed!" Charlotte commanded. Skiddo nodded, shifting out of the way to charge towards his opponent across the field, throwing small green and orange glowing seeds from the bush to hit Onix. Once more, the attack hit, and surrounded the Rock Snake Pokémon with glowing vines that began tightening around it. "Razor leaf!"

"Skiiiiiid!" Skiddo shouted, summoning another round of leaves to hit the Onix, who fell backwards onto the ground. Charlotte blinked for a moment, realizing how easy it was to defeat this Onix.

Until it got back up, angrier than before. It glared down at Skiddo with menacing white eyes, striking fear into the Mounting Pokémon. "Flash cannon!" Grant commanded. Before Charlotte and Skiddo could respond, Onix opened its maw and unleashed a powerful flash of light from its mouth, concentrating the energy towards Skiddo. He took the hit, and flew backwards towards Charlotte, landing on his side.

"Skiddo! Get back up!" Charlotte shouted, just as she noticed Onix take damage from the leech seed. "You can do this!"

"C'mon Skiddo!" Niko shouted as well. "You got it!"

Skiddo looked to Niko, and then Charlotte, remembering how they had helped him. Nodding, he slowly found his way back onto his feet. Charlotte smirked. _We're not done yet_. "Skiddo, use razor leaf!"

"Onix, rock tomb!" Grant commanded. In a repeat of the first moves used, Onix summoned slabs of rock from the sky to rain down on the Mounting Pokémon, who slid to the side to dodge the move before using razor leaf. Then, on Charlotte's command, Skiddo used vine whip to swing around the previous rock tombs and, like Niko and Chespin's strategy, gain momentum. However, they used it not to hit Onix, like Niko had done—they needed air time.

"Razor leaf!" Charlotte commanded, just as Skiddo launched himself into the air, and up close. While Onix was taking damage from the leech seed, Skiddo summoned another flurry of leaves that hit Onix directly in the face, forcing the Rock Snake Pokémon to fall backwards onto the ground.

"Onix is unable to battle, Skiddo is the winner!" The referee declared. "Leader Grant will use his second Pokémon!"

"Onix, return," Grant said with a smile. "Well done. I see you've tried to improve upon Niko's strategy. Amaura, I choose you!"

"Skiddo, you want to keep going?" Charlotte asked. The Mounting Pokémon, sensing Amaura's chilling attribute, actually shook his head. "Fair enough. You're not used to fighting ice types. Return," she said, exchanging pokéballs. "Larvitar, I choose you!"

"Hmm…Larvitar…?" Warren asked. "Wouldn't he be weak to ice?"

"Amaura is also weak to rock. They're tied, regarding types," Niko added.

"Larvitar, rock slide!" Charlotte shouted. The Rock Skin Pokémon nodded, attempting to conjure multiple rocks at once. He, however, only managed to create a couple and was too slow about it.

"Amaura, aurora beam!" Grant commanded. The Tundra Pokémon shot a beam of rainbow-colored energy at Larvitar, just as he threw the rocks he created. The beam hit him directly in the chest and launched him backwards. Larvitar hit a rock behind him and collapsed on the ground, struggling to get back up.

"Larvitar? Larvitar! Get up!" Charlotte shouted. However, the Rock Skin Pokémon had difficulty getting back up, and ultimately collapsed.

"Larvitar is unable to battle, Amaura is the winner!" the referee declared. "Challenger Charlotte will use her next Pokémon!"

"Return, Larvitar," Charlotte said, wincing a little as she did so. "I'm _really_ sorry. Frillish, let's go!"

"Amaura, thunder wave!"

"Water pulse!" Charlotte shouted. Frillish quickly conjured a pulsating sphere of water and launched it at Amaura to meet the thunder wave. The attack struck and created a small explosion. "Bubblebeam!"

"Aurora beam!" Grant called out. Both attacks hit simultaneously, once more resulting in a stalemate. "Take down!"

"What? Frillish is a ghost type," Charlotte said, choosing not to use any command in retaliation, due to her belief that the attack would inevitably miss.

"Amaura's ability is called refrigerate," Grant explained as Frillish was hit by the unusually-fast take down, "it turns any normal type move into an ice type one. It's one of the only Pokémon in existence that can do that."

"Really now," Charlotte said, looking thoroughly surprised. "Alright then! Frillish, use recover, and then water pulse!"

"Thunder wave to block it!" Grant shouted. Just as the pink Floating Pokémon began to glow and sparkle, indicating the healing process, Amaura launched electric sparks from her sails to successfully hit Frillish, halting her in her tracks. "Now, rock tomb!"

"Frillish, can you move?" Charlotte asked. Frillish nodded, slowly turning to meet Amaura, who conjured slabs of rock to rain down on her. "Water pulse!"

Frillish slowly created an orb of water, but it was quickly popped when the rock tomb surrounded Frillish, holding her inside. Grant then commanded Amaura to use aurora beam, which successfully hit by breaking through the rock tomb and launching a paralyzed Frillish halfway across the rocky battlefield.

"Get up!" Charlotte shouted, worried that she might be on the losing end of this battle. She needed Frillish in order to win this match. Luckily, the Floating Pokémon got back up, albeit slowly. "Well done. Frillish, water pulse!"

"Amaura, aurora beam!" Grant shouted. Both attacks collided in the middle of the field, resulting in a momentary stalemate. However, Frillish shot to the side, gliding along the ground in a graceful manner and, under Charlotte's command, used ominous wind to blow Amaura down to the ground.

"Finish it off with water pulse!" Charlotte shouted. Frillish cried out as she raised two tentacles into the air and slammed down a water pulse on top of the side of Amaura's body. The orb burst upon contact.

"Amaura is unable to battle, Frillish is the winner! Leader Grant will use his third and final Pokémon!" the referee declared.

"Return, Amaura. This battle is getting intense. Like with Niko, I'm impressed by your Pokémon, Charlotte. You two must train together often."

"Eh…I guess so," Charlotte said, nervously scratching her head as she eyed her friend. "Anyway, Frillish, do you want to keep going?"

Unlike Skiddo, Frillish nodded, just as Grant summoned tyrunt. "Use crunch!"

"Water pulse!" Charlotte shouted. Like with Amaura, Frillish was faster, conjuring an orb of pulsating water to throw at Tyrunt. The pulse hit the Royal Heir Pokémon in the face but hardly seemed to faze it as Tyrunt charged down the field, opened its maw wide open, and clamped down on Frillish' tentacle, only to violently throw it to the side, forcing the pink Floating Pokémon into a nearby rock and shatter it.

"Draco meteor!" Grant commanded. Tyrunt stopped in its tracks and spit up a massive orange sphere into the sky, where it exploded into smaller spheres that resembled flaming meteors dropping to the ground. Like Clauncher before it, Frillish attempted to dodge by moving out of the way, but failed to do so, and got hit several times.

"Frillish is unable to battle, Tyrunt is the winner! Challenger Charlotte will use her next Pokémon!" the referee declared.

"Skiddo, I choose you!" Charlotte shouted, re-summoning her Mounting Pokémon. "Use leech seed!"

"Tyrunt, rock tomb!" Grant commanded. The Royal Heir Pokémon conjured slabs of rock to land on Skiddo, who managed to launch out small seeds from the bush on its back before getting hit by the rock tomb. "Dragon tail!"

"Skiddo, use razor leaf!" Charlotte commanded, watching her opponent charged towards her. Skiddo managed to escape the rock tomb and use razor leaf, which only temporarily slowed Tyrunt down. "Keep it up! Don't give in!" she shouted. The Mounting Pokémon continued to fire off razor leaves, all of which only temporarily halted the advances of his opponent, who eventually whacked Skiddo across the side of the body with a glowing green tail, launching the grass type into a pointed stone nearby.

"Skiddo is unable to battle, Tyrunt is the winner! Charlotte will use her fourth Pokémon!" the referee declared.

"Return. You did great, Skiddo. Please get some rest. Deerling, I choose you!" she shouted, summoning the Season Pokémon. "This is your debut battle, too. Let's make it worth something! Deerling, use faint attack!"

"Tyrunt, draco meteor!" Grant commanded. Tyrunt fired off another orange sphere into the sky just as Deerling disappeared and struck at his opponent.

"That's it, Deerling!" Charlotte shouted, suddenly coming up with a plan. "Now, use double kick!" she commanded, watching the Season Pokémon spin around quickly and kick Tyrunt in the jaw, knocking it backwards. "And again!"

"Crunch!" Grant shouted as the meteors began to crash into the ground. Tyrunt opened its mouth to attack Deerling, but its opponent was quicker.

"Energy ball!" she shouted. Deerling conjured a glowing green ball of pure energy and fired it at Tyrunt, knocking it backwards just as one of the draco meteors landed on top of it. Once the dust settled, Tyrunt struggled to get back up, ultimately falling forward in defeat.

"Tyrunt is unable to battle, Deerling is the winner! And the victory goes to Charlotte from Castelia City!" the referee declared.

 _Wow…that was easier than I thought it would be…_ Charlotte thought to herself. Smiling, she crouched down to hug Deerling, who came prancing over to her, overjoyed at her victory. "We did it, Deerling! We did it!"

"Yes! She did it!" Niko said excitedly, pumping a fist in the air. Warren clapped enthusiastically as well.

"Charlotte," Grant said, returning Tyrunt as he walked across the field to his victorious opponent, "you and your friend Niko have done exceptionally well. The sheer fact that I might not have seen your entire team is justification for how talented you two are. As proof of your victory, I'd like to award you both with the Cliff Badge," Grant reached into the pocket of his gray hiking pants and pulled out two badges in the shape of a rock climbing wall, or a cliff. "Congrats."

* * *

Niko and Charlotte both took the badges and looked at one another. Niko in particular noticed Charlotte's eyes sparkling a little, but couldn't seem to determine why.

"So, two badges down, and six more!" Warren said excitedly as they exited the gym. "Where next?"

"I think Professor Sycamore mentioned Shalour City as close by, at least relative to Cyllage City," Charlotte said, placing her hands in her pockets. "Plus, that's where mega evolution is said to originate, right?"

"Yes! I remember that, too!" Niko said, remembering the other reason he came to Kalos. He had been too preoccupied with Chespin listening to him and training his nearly full team of Pokémon that he had completely forgotten about mega evolution. "I—I really want to visit there," he said as he looked down at the ground, which seemed to change Charlotte's expression to one of concern, rather than intrigue.

"I think it's perfect, then!" Warren exclaimed. "They have a gym, and you two can learn more about mega evolution!"

"So, it's settled. Off to Shalour City!" Niko said, perking back up again.


	17. Lessons learned and unlearned

**Episode 17: Lessons learned and unlearned**

"So, Shalour City is roughly a week and a half away," Charlotte said as she pulled out her guidebook in the Cyllage City Pokémon Center, nearly half an hour after her win against Grant. "There's one major city between here and there—Geosenge Town."

"Sounds good to me," Niko said with a half-smile. Once again Charlotte registered a look of concern, but ignored it to continue talking.

"It would give us plenty of time to train if we need to. I'm sure our Pokémon will need more practice before this coming gym battle," she added. To this Niko nodded curtly. "You feeling alright?"

"Oh? Yeah, I'm just fine."

"Alright, good," she said, putting her guidebook away and sitting both elbows on the table. "You did really well in that gym battle, Niko."

"Heh, thanks. So did you," Niko replied, again curtly.

"I could have done better, but I'm just glad we got the gym badge," she said, now with a half-smile as well. Warren, who looked at his companions with confusion, slammed his hands on the table.

"You both did great! Geez…" he said, crossing his arms with frustration. "I don't know why you're both looking at this like it was a loss."

"We aren't…" Niko replied, glaring at Warren. "I'm not even angry at anyone; can't I have a lot on my mind?"

"It seems like you do a lot, though," Charlotte said softly. "But you never open up about any of it."

"There isn't a need to," Niko said with a _hmph_ sound.

"Why not? We're your friends."

Niko sighed. "I'm sorry if I offended you back at the Cyllage Gym, right before your battle. I wasn't trying to imply anything."

"Oh, _that's_ what's bothering you?" Charlotte asked, raising an eyebrow. When Niko nodded, she giggled a little. "Please, I was just stressed out. Watching your battle with Grant made me wonder if I could keep up, both with you and with him. I wasn't thinking straight, and I know you didn't mean to offend me."

"Alright, I was worried," Niko said. "I tend to do that sometimes."

"I think we all do, to a certain extent," Charlotte said. "Is there anything else bothering you?"

"No…" Niko said, looking away. "I completely forgot about mega evolution until you had mentioned it, and it made me wonder why I forgot it, especially since I 'think too much.'"

To this, Charlotte giggled again. "You were focused on what was in front of you. That isn't always a bad thing. We had a long way to go before getting to Cyllage City, I understand that you wanted to focus on that, because so did I! And I also forgot about it until remembering about Shalour City. Niko," she said, leaning close to her friend across the table, "we're both learning about mega evolution, together. I wouldn't put too much extra stress on yourself, considering it'll be at least a week before we have to worry about it."

Niko's shoulders relaxed a little and, after a deep sigh, Niko nodded. "Thanks, Charlotte."

* * *

The trip to Shalour City, as Charlotte had mentioned, took the trio through Geosenge Town. To get there—roughly a two day-long journey—they needed to trek through route 10, which was largely a forested route.

During their first day on the road, Niko and Charlotte spent time training, and it was a rougher time than they had initially expected. Several of the Pokémon that lost in the battle with Grant—specifically Chespin and Larvitar—were upset with themselves, and handled it in different ways. Chespin chose not to train once again, falling back into his old ways. However, Larvitar also disobeyed Charlotte, but instead of giving up he simply marched on, continually using rock slide on nearby trees as a way of target practice.

"Well done, Larvitar," Charlotte said as she took her eyes off of Fennekin and turned to the Rock Skin Pokémon. Larvitar noticed her, but simply looked away. "Are you mad at me?" she asked, walking over and sitting down next to the baby Pokémon. Larvitar turned his head away again but eventually nodded. "You have every reason to be. It wasn't fair of me to send you into battle when you weren't ready."

To this, Larvitar snapped his head back and raised his stubby arm to attack Charlotte.

"Woah Larvitar, calm down for a moment," she said softly. "You're still learning how to battle. I know you think you're strong, and you want to be strong, but you're just not yet. The last thing I want is for you to go into battle unprepared. And, well, I kinda failed you there, and I'm sorry for it."

Larvitar stared into Charlotte's hazel eyes before closing his own and crying.

"Come here, buddy," she said, reaching over to hug the Rock Skin Pokémon. "I get the frustration, I really do. But next time we'll be more prepared, and you'll kick ass. I promise you that."

She let go of Larvitar, who looked up at his trainer with wet eyes. Nodding, he turned to face the cluster of broken trees again and attempted another rock slide that proved to be—again—unsuccessful.

"Chespin, c'mon…" Niko said with another heavy sigh. "I'm sorry that we lost to Onix, but you _have_ to keep going! Part of getting stronger is losing, and you know that!"

Chespin hardly even turned in Niko's direction, electing to not give him the time of day, which frustrated the trainer.

"Fine, the other four and I will continue trying to get better. If you want to continue to wallow in self-pity, then do so. But I'm not going to train Pokémon that give up on themselves," Niko said before turning to his other four Pokémon, who all registered surprised expressions at his ultimatum. "I'm used to Pokémon not listening to me. This isn't unusual. Now, let's get back to work. Amaura, use icy wind! Swirlix, cotton spore! Fletchinder, quick attack! And Clauncher, use vice grip!"

The two trainers continued their training for the next hour or so. Meanwhile, Warren was writing down the previous gym battle in his booklet while watching. _Those two…_ he thought to himself, _are something else, for sure. I wonder if they have any idea that their connection is stronger than they think_.

That evening, after finishing their training and walking for a couple of hours, the trio sat down for another meal. This time, the trio worked together to make dinner for the first time. While in Cyllage City, they had decided to try cooking different kinds of foods besides the usual sandwiches or cooked meat and berries.

"I think I'm getting the hang of this," Niko said as he chopped up some berries. When he lived in Castelia City, he had attempted to learn how to cook, but he had supposedly done everything wrong. As he was quickly learning, there was a specific way to cut things with a knife. He also learned how to marinate certain foods, and was quite pleased with his results, even though they were still sub-par according to Warren and Charlotte.

"You will…one day…" Charlotte said.

"I can't believe you cooked when we lived together," Warren said. "Did you just forget or something?"

"I suppose so…" Niko said, looking pleased with himself nevertheless.

While Charlotte was continuing her sketch, and Warren was finishing up his writing, Niko broke open a basic cook book he found in Cyllage City and began reading it, specifically the section on pokéfood. He wanted to learn how to make specific foods for each of his Pokémon, but settled on a basic recipe that most Pokémon enjoyed as a way to begin his studies.

The following day, Niko woke up early to begin his cooking. Using the recipe found in the cook book, he began constructing the small pebble-sized chunks that would become pokéfood. After nearly an hour, he finally finished as Charlotte and Warren woke up. Surprised, they sent out their Pokémon to give it a try, as did Niko himself.

For the most part, the Pokémon didn't seem to like it. The exception was Larvitar, who seemed to love it, and in fact ate so much of it that he fell on his back and rolled to the side.

"You'll just have to give it another go some other time, Niko," Charlotte said as she, Warren, and Amaura tried to haul Larvitar back into a sitting position to help with digestion. "Boy, you _are_ heavy, Larvitar!" Larvitar groaned as he looked up at Niko and held his stubby arms out, clearly asking for more.

"I don't have any more, Larvitar. I'm sorry!" Niko said, pointing to the ravaged, empty napkins sitting on the ground, where the food sat. "But I'll try to make some more when we get to Geosenge Town, I promise!"

Larvitar smiled, clearly looking forward to this.

* * *

Later that day, the trio began to notice large stones littered across the open field they were walking through. Curious, Niko approached one of them and noticed some writing etched onto the front.

" _Charizard, my beloved friend and partner, and hero of Kalos. You are one with God now_ ," Niko read. "This is a grave, you guys."

"They're probably all graves," Warren said as they looked around. "And they go on forever. It seems almost out of place."

"These are Pokémon who acted as sacrifices during the war," a voice said behind them. Niko, Warren, and Charlotte turned to see a tall man with black hair that had red streaks running through it, as if it were dye fading away.

"The war…?" Niko asked before remembering something that he read in his book on Kalos history. "Oh! That war!"

"Yes, 'that war.' 3,000 years ago. The war was put to an end by a man called AZ, who used the ultimate weapon to end the war. To do so, he needed the power from all of these Pokémon," the man extended his arms out as far as he could, "and thus they were sacrificed to prevent the destruction of Kalos."

"That means…we must be close to Geosenge City, right?" Charlotte asked, and the man nodded. "I remember reading about how a powerful weapon was created in Geosenge, but it hadn't been used since."

"You're correct," the man said with a heavy sigh. "That weapon, used for the wrong purposes, could destroy life as we know it. That's why everyday I'm thankful for these Pokémon, who made the right, but difficult, call."

"Who are you, by the way?" Warren asked. "Unless it isn't my place to ask—"

"That's fine. My name—at least, what I call myself nowadays—is Jon. I used to not really have a name," he said, looking off towards a nearby grave with an expression of disgust.

"Why is that?" Charlotte asked, curious as ever.

"I, err, used to be a part of an evil organization. Or, at least, what I see as evil today. Back then, I believed we were doing the right thing."

"What was the organization called?" Niko asked.

"Team Flare. I'm sure you've heard of us."

"Actually, we haven't. We're not exactly from around here," Charlotte replied.

"That's probably for the better. Team Flare is hated here, for what they tried to do," when the trio gave a look of confusion, Jon elaborated. "We tried to essentially destroy the Kalos region with a Pokémon called Zygarde. The purpose of this was to remake the Kalos region in the name of our leader—Lysandre—using something similar to the ultimate weapon, as well as Zygarde. I'm really ashamed for the role I played in it, and have since kept a low profile so as to not attract any attention to myself."

"I get that," Niko said with a half-smile. "We all make mistakes, big and small. It's how we react to those mistakes that defines us. Trust me, I've met men and women who haven't realized the mistakes they've made, and have refused to atone for them. You're not like them, I promise you that."

"Thanks, stranger," Jon said.

"Call me Niko. And these are my friends, Charlotte and Warren."

"Pleasure to meet you. Let me take you into Geosenge Town," Jon said, leading the trio north through the graveyard. Minutes later, they arrived in the town, which was a small collection of houses and roads at the western edge of a mountain range. "It's not much, but it's a town all the same. The Pokémon Center is just down the road," Jon said.

"Thanks for showing us here," Niko said.

"No worries. I appreciated hearing what you told me. You're right—I am atoning for my mistakes," he said, looking towards the north, where a massive rock protruded from the ground. "One day at a time."

"Exactly," Niko said, holding out his hand. Jon took it, and shook it before turning on his feet and walking east of them, presumably towards his home. "That was odd, don't you think?"

"A little, but it was interesting to meet someone who was part of an evil gang and not still hellbent on killing people," Charlotte said. "Unlike some people back in Unova."

"It makes me want to read more into what Team Flare actually did, though," Niko said, "because it seems to really have shaken this place."

"Geosenge is probably the place to learn about it, too," Warren added as they approached the Pokémon Center. However, as soon as they reached the sliding double doors, they stopped short when they noticed a familiar blonde trainer leave.

"Ian!" Niko shouted.

"Niko!" the boy called Ian replied, embracing his rival. "Long time no see again! How's the gym challenge coming?"

"Pretty well so far, just got out second badge," Niko said, pointing to Charlotte. "You?"

"Got three actually, headed for Cyllage City next. Then back to Lumiose for my fifth," Ian said. "What about you?"

"Heading to Shalour for our third," Niko replied.

"Shalour is a real challenge, I'll have you know," Ian said. "I needed to bring my Raichu in to finish the gym leader off."

"She's really that tough?" Niko asked, remembering how strong Ian's Raichu was back in Sinnoh.

"Yup. I'd tell you, but I think it's best for you to see for yourself," Ian replied. "Charlotte, Warren, how are you both?"

"Doing well, Ian!" Warren said. "We watched Niko try to cook this morning. Boy, was that fun!" he said cheerfully, slapping his friend on the back while sporting a wide grin.

"Oh, that must've been quite the sight to see!" Ian said. "Charlotte, I understand you're working on challenging gyms as well?"

"Yep! Also beat Grant for my second badge!" she said proudly.

"Well done. Say, how about a battle?" Ian asked, holding out a pokéball. "I just caught a Pokémon on the coast, and I'd like to try it out in an actual battle."

"Me?" Charlotte asked, pointing to herself, "Or Niko?"

"You, why not?" Ian asked with a smirk. To this, Niko raised an eyebrow. Usually, he was the one being challenged by trainers, not Charlotte. If he was being completely honest, he didn't know how to react to this.

Charlotte and Ian met on opposite ends of the battlefield outside Geosenge Town's Pokémon Center. Niko and Warren sat on the sidelines. "This isn't something I'm used to," Niko admitted to his friend.

"Relax, Niko. It's good that Charlotte has a rival of her own, too."

"I know. I'm not complaining, just expressing a new feeling," Niko replied in a defensive tone. Warren didn't respond.

Charlotte fondled a pokéball in her hand. _Hopefully this is the right choice._ "Larvitar, I choose you!"

"Ah, right, the Larvitar that came out of the egg, right?" Ian asked. "This'll be fun, I think. Binacle, I choose you!" he shouted, summoning a small, oddly-shaped Pokémon. It was two hands with eyes on each palm, three claws on each, and both were attached to a gray rock.

" _Binacle, the Two-Handed Pokémon. Rock and water type. They stretch and then contract, yanking their rocks along with them in bold hops. They eat seaweed that washes up on the shoreline_ ," Niko's pokédex read.

"What an odd-looking Pokémon," Niko said aloud.

"Right?" Ian replied. "I love it. They're so much fun to watch!" he said excitedly. "Use water gun!"

"Larvitar, screech!" Charlotte commanded. Larvitar, after being struck by the burst of water, wailed out loudly, piercing the eardrums of the humans around him, but also Ian's Binacle. "Well done, Larvitar! Use bite!"

"Withdraw!" Ian shouted. The two hands on Binacle curled up on the gray rock they were attached to as Larvitar ran up to them and attempted to bite down on the longest of the two arms. "Now, water gun!"

The other, shorter arm, looked up and sprayed water at Larvitar, catching him off balance and forcing him to fall to the ground.

"Now, mud slap!" Ian shouted and, at close range, the bigger of the two hands jumped off of its rock and slapped Larvitar across the face as he was getting back up. "Water gun, this time with the other hand!"

"Rock slide!" Charlotte shouted. Larvitar attempted to conjure enough rocks to shower his opponent with, but the third and final spray of water was too much to handle, and Larvitar fell on his back in defeat.

Ian returned Binacle and walked up to Charlotte and a clearly distraught Larvitar, who looked away from both trainers.

"Larvitar…" Charlotte said before sighing deeply and looking up at Ian. "I'm sorry for him. He doesn't take losing lightly."

"It's not a worry at all. I appreciated the chance to not just battle you, but also test out my Binacle," Ian said, holding out his hand to shake Charlotte's. "I can tell you want to get stronger, and battling is the best way to do that, obviously. Keep it up."

"Thanks?" Charlotte asked, returning the handshake. Ian didn't really give her any new information, but she understood that it came from a good place. "I'd like to have a rematch next time, if that's alright."

"Fair enough. Maybe we can get Niko in on it, as well," Ian said, nodding towards his old friend.

"Of course! I'd like to try my hand at that Binacle of yours!" Niko said, pumping his fist in excitement.

"I look forward to it. Anyways, see you three later. Best of luck in Shalour City. You're gonna need it!" Ian said, leaving the Pokémon Center to continue his own journey southwards, and leaving Niko and his friends wondering what would make their next gym battle so challenging.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Kind of a lot going on in this episode, and most of it is just brief information-the odd tension Niko is feeling, how their Pokemon react to training (and to Niko's cooking), meeting a former Team Flare member, Larvitar's confidence, and then Ian again! I tried to fit a lot of little, nuanced details in this episode that might not make a whole lot of sense, i'm sure, but i'm trying to develop the humans, as well as the Pokemon, by detailing smaller, potentially less significant struggles and insecurities they might be feeling. Hopefully it's working. Enjoy!**


	18. The Reflection Cave

**Episode 18: The Reflection Cave**

The trio stayed in Geosenge Town for much of the day following their encounter with Ian. Charlotte, specifically, wanted to continue training, particularly with her Larvitar. The Rock Skin Pokémon, upset by his loss at the hands of Ian's Binacle, continued to train throughout the night and into the early morning, still attempting to use rock slide. However, the attack required more energy than he had, and he collapsed onto the ground after several hours of training.

"You've done enough," an exhausted Charlotte said as she returned her Pokémon. "You need some rest," she turned and saw Niko and Warren walking out onto the battlefield, looking like they just woke up.

"Long night?" Niko asked.

"Clearly," Charlotte replied, rolling her eyes. "Larvitar is obsessed with getting stronger."

"Not that that's a bad thing, right?" Warren said.

"No, it's not, until he stays up most of the night trying a move that is difficult to put together," Charlotte said. "I need to go to bed. I'll catch you two later," she said before lumbering into the Pokémon Center towards her lodging.

"Guess that battle with Ian really got to them—Charlotte and Larvitar, I mean," Warren commented as the two men looked behind them to watch their female companion disappear.

"It's more Larvitar than Charlotte, I think," Niko added. "But she wants to see Larvitar get stronger, probably so it can mega evolve one day."

"Makes sense. But it seems almost…misguided, in my opinion," Warren said with a shrug. "Just my thoughts, I guess."

"Hey, want to battle?" Niko asked spontaneously. It had been a while since he battled his friend. Warren nodded, and the two took their places on opposite ends of the battlefield. "One on one?"

"Sure, let's do it!" Warren said. "Pidove, I choose you!" he shouted, summoning the small, gray pigeon Pokémon.

"Why not make this a flying battle? Fletchinder, let's go!" Niko called out, summoning his Ember Pokémon. "Use agility!"

"Air slash, Pidove!" Warren commanded. The Tiny Pigeon Pokémon unleashed blue blades of air that attempted to strike Fletchinder, who managed to evade each one with agility before slamming into Pidove with a peck attack. "Air cutter!"

"Ember!" Niko shouted. Just as Pidove was about to use his move, Fletchinder opened her maw and spit out small fireballs, catching the Tiny Pigeon on fire and forcing it into the ground. "Finish it off with quick attack!"

"Pidove, dodge and use air slash!" Warren shouted. His Pokémon quickly rose back into the air and unleashed another slash of blue-colored wind from the tips of his wings, this time hitting Fletchinder successfully. "Quick attack!"

"Fletchinder, ember again!" Niko shouted. The Ember Pokémon, who was lower to the ground than Pidove, raised her head and spit out more balls of fire, each of which struck Pidove and knocked him off balance. "Quick attack!"

"Air cutter!" Warren commanded. However, Fletchinder was faster, and knocked Pidove out of the air with one quick sweep. Pidove crashed into the ground, unable to battle.

"Well done, Warren," Niko said as he returned Fletchinder, "it's nice to battle against Pidove every once in a while. Usually it's Poliwhirl or Leavanny."

"I figured he hadn't battled in some time. Might as well give him a chance, too."

"I'm glad he did," Niko said with a warm smile. "Let's go get something to eat while we wait for Charlotte to wake up.

* * *

Now that the trio were leaving Geosenge Town, their only path in the way of the next gym was route 11. It was a mountainous path, but it was by far the quickest way to get to Shalour City. According to Charlotte, it would take a few more days to get to Shalour City from there.

During these days, the trio spent much of their time either training or working on their side-hobbies. Charlotte finally finished a sketch of her Skiddo, and Warren quickly caught up on his writing. Niko, on the other hand, continued to try making pokéfood with various results. One day, he succeeded in making something _his_ Pokémon would like, but only because they understood he was trying. Charlotte's Pokémon, generally speaking, weren't as pleased with his cooking (with the exception of Larvitar).

"You're getting better, that's for sure," Charlotte said as she watched Deerling spit out some of it.

"Really?" Niko asked sarcastically. "You _really_ think I'm getting better?"

"No, no not really," Charlotte said with a shrug. "At least Larvitar likes it."

"But Larvitar will eat literally anything," Niko said. "He eats _rocks_ , for crying out loud!" Niko said, pointing to the baby Pokémon eating a nearby pebble. To this, Charlotte could only shrug.

"You just have to practice more, that's all," Warren said in an attempt to be optimistic. "I've certainly gotten better at writing the more I do it."

"And I've learned new ways to draw, just by practicing it!" Charlotte said, showing off her drawing of Skiddo. The Mount Pokémon looked at it and bleated out cheerfully.

"I guess you're both right," Niko said, looking down at the now-wasted pokéfood. "I'll give it another go tomorrow."

The next few days were spent at the bottom of a ravine and later a forested area with a waterfall. While in the ravine, Charlotte worked with Larvitar on learning rock slide in hopes that he might have an easier time if he tried to control the rocks around him, instead of creating them out of thin air. This was moderately successful, but it gave the Rock Skin Pokémon more confidence than he had before.

Warren also took some time to train his Pokémon, now that he was caught up on his writing. Specifically, he wanted to train with his pidove, who occasionally sparred with Niko's Fletchinder in aerial battles. On the ground, Leavanny and Poliwhirl were practicing their reflexive techniques, often sparring against one another and attempting to dodge each other's attacks.

Niko and Charlotte's other Pokémon also got some training in, with the exception of Chespin, who flat-out refused to battle or train. It eventually took a light blast of Clauncher's water gun to get him to even move. In response, the Spiny Nut Pokémon broke into a rollout towards his teammate, who scuttled away and used another water gun that hit Chespin in the side, launching him into the lake away from them. Swirlix and Amaura laughed at this, and even Niko found it amusing.

Amaura's training, in particular, was getting better at battling. She could now keep pace with Clauncher, often using thunderwave to slow him down, and could now successfully land rock throw. She had also successfully learned how to use hail, another move that Professor Fitzpatrick suggested to Niko, when she urged him to keep Amaura's body temperature in mind.

As for Charlotte's team, she didn't seem to have many problems. Besides Larvitar, all of her Pokémon were having a relatively easy time with their training. Smeargle was clearly getting stronger, as she was now able to keep up with Skiddo on their daily runs, and could release a hex attack fast enough to hit Frillish. Larvitar spent more time working on rock slide than virtually anything else, often training alongside Niko's Amaura while she was mastering rock throw.

It was Fennekin, though, that was on the cusp of mastering a new move on Charlotte's team. For a couple of weeks now, Charlotte was noticing her Fox Pokémon's fur light on fire whenever she used an ember attack. After looking it up in the pokédex, she realized it was likely that Fennekin was trying to learn a move called flame charge.

"Apparently, this move is pretty neat," Charlotte said, showing Warren and Niko one evening. "After each use, the Pokémon gets faster!"

"So using this multiple times—" Niko began.

"—and Fennekin will be _super-fast_! Zoom zoom!" Charlotte said, laughing out loud.

"I'm sure that'll be very useful in future gym battles, actually," Niko said as he looked at the now-sleeping Fennekin.

The following day, Charlotte worked with Fennekin on this particular move, trying to master it down before the next gym battle. However, she wasn't quite sure how to start it. Noticing this, Niko suggested that the two of them have a mock battle.

"Sure, why not? Fennekin, let's go!" Charlotte called out. The Fox Pokémon leapt out in front of her trainer, growling at Niko and his Pokémon of choice, Swirlix. "Fennekin, use ember!"

"Swirlix, fairy wind!" Niko commanded. The Cotton Candy Pokémon conjured a powerful gust of sparkling wind that managed to blow Fennekin backwards. "C'mon, Fennekin!" Niko shouted encouragingly. "Swirlix, fairy wind again!"

"Fennekin, run up and use scratch!" Charlotte shouted. Her Pokémon nodded, sprinting as fast as she could towards Swirlix before leaping into the air, only to be bogged down by a sudden cotton spore from her fairy-type opponent. "Ugh…Fennekin, ember!"

"I thought this was about learning flame charge, Charlotte?" Niko asked, raising an eyebrow. She stomped her foot on the ground in mock anger, and commanded Fennekin to use flame charge this time.

Somehow, this registered with Fennekin, who rushed at Swirlix, her body lighting on fire, and attempted to strike at Swirlix. However, a gust of fairy wind quickly extinguished the flames, and knocked Fennekin back onto the ground in defeat.

"Return, Swirlix, well done…I guess," Niko said as he walked over to Charlotte and her defeated Fennekin. "Let's try again tomorrow, how about that?"

"Maybe. I don't know," Charlotte said, looking away.

"What's wrong?" Niko asked, crouching down next to his companion.

"Nothing. We'll just work on it another time," Charlotte said, picking up Fennekin and walking her back over to their camp before proceeding to heal the Fox Pokémon up. Niko stood there watching with complete confusion, wondering if he did or said anything wrong.

* * *

After nearly a week of travelling along route 11, the trio made it to a small cave entrance—the only one along the mountain range, according to Charlotte.

"Looks like we have to pass through here, right?" she asked as she looked around the nearby mountain range, and seeing no obvious path.

"Yeah, you know if this has a name?" Warren asked as Charlotte took out her guidebook and began flipping through it, eventually reaching the page they were looking for. "Reflection Cave…interesting."

"It actually is. Look, here are some snapshots of it," Charlotte said, showing pictures of mirrors on cave walls to Niko and Warren.

"So it's just a cave full of mirrors?" Niko asked.

"Seems like it, but maybe there's a deeper meaning to them," Charlotte said in speculation.

Niko nodded, and the three of them entered the cave. Their path was dimly illuminated by crystals hanging from the walls and ceiling, reflecting on the many mirrored surfaces around them.

While they were walking through, Niko was able to get a better look at himself. He hadn't seen his own reflection in nearly a week, and noticed that his facial hair was coming back in, but cleaner this time. Smirking at this minor success, he pressed on. Warren, on the other hand, noticed his lack of facial hair, and tried to get up close to one of the mirrors to see if anything was coming in. There was, but it was much shorter.

After an hour of travelling, Charlotte looked around, recognizing her surroundings. "We've been around here already."

"What makes you say that?" Niko asked, also looking around.

"Because I recognize that same exact crystal in the corner of the ceiling," Charlotte said, pointing upwards to a light blue crystal with three smaller crystals protruding from it. "It looked cool, that's why I noticed it."

"That doesn't really help much, though," Niko said, "We're lost, basically."

"Yep, definitely lost," Charlotte replied, looking around. "Maybe we could try going down that tunnel?" she asked, pointing to one of the pathways to their immediate right. "We went left last time; let's try the right instead."

Niko and Warren obliged, and as soon as they did the tunnel began to get progressively darker, albeit slowly but noticeable all the same. "Is this supposed to happen?" Niko asked as he looked around as the lack of light.

Just then, Charlotte sent out Fennekin and Smeargle to help light the place up. Smeargle used ember from her tail to light up the area around her, and Fennekin shot out an ember into the distance. However, moments later the trio heard a low grumbling sound. Moments later a large, bat-like Pokémon emerged in front of them with an angry stare.

"Fennekin…" Charlotte said cautiously, "you might have just upset someone…"

"VERNNN!" the bat-like creature screeched out before extending its massive wings and slamming the trio with a gust of wind that knocked them backwards and onto the ground.

"Pidove, I choose you!" Warren shouted, almost instinctively. "Air cutter!"

"Fletchinder, you're up!" Niko called out. "Use ember!"

"Ember as well, Fennekin, Smeargle!" Charlotte shouted. All four attacks hit the strange bat-like Pokémon, who responded by opening its maw and uttering out what Niko recognized at sonicboom from its two circular ears.

"What the hell Pokémon is this?" Niko asked, whipping out his pokédex:

" _Noivern, the Sound Wave Pokémon. Flying and dragon type. The ultrasonic waves it emits from its ears can reduce a large boulder to pebbles. It swoops out of the dark to attack_."

"Dragon type? In that case, Fletchinder, return! Amaura, use icy wind!"

"Pidove, air cutter!" Warren shouted, just as he watched Fennekin and Smeargle fall to another sonicboom. Amaura, now joining the battle, attempted to use icy wind but the noivern dodged it with what seemed to be an agility before hitting the Tundra Pokémon with a powerful sonicboom. Amaura cringed from the attack and the accompanying screech, bringing her to her knees. "Pidove, _air cutter_!" Warren commanded a third time. Somehow, Pidove was still in the fight, having dodged most of the wild noivern's attacks.

"Warren, let's go," Charlotte urged her friend. "We can find another way without upsetting any more Pokémon."

"No, we can do this," Warren said in an uncharacteristically stubborn fashion. "Pidove, I believe in you! Use quick attack!"

"Amaura, let's get back in, too! Use rock throw!" Niko commanded.

"Fennekin, Smeargle, use ember!" Charlotte shouted. Once more, all of the attacks hit, but noivern shot back with a combination of screech and sonicboom, which burst all of the attacks and struck Pidove directly in the face.

"PIDOVE!" Warren shouted, diving forward to catch the Tiny Pigeon Pokémon. "Pi-Pidove! Are you alright?" Pidove looked up at Warren and nodded, albeit weakly. "You're strong, buddy, you'll be alright. I know we don't battle much, but you're stronger than you think. _That_ I know! You've already proved that to me in this battle," Warren said, looking up at the wild noivern with a concerned expression.

Then, out of the blue, Pidove began to illuminate a bright white color, growing to nearly twice his original size. He was a light-gray avian Pokémon, like Pidove, and had black markings on his wings, tail, and the back of his head. His beak and eyes were both yellow, and there was a dark pink marking above his beak that curved back over his eyes. On the nape of his neck he had a petal-like arrangement of black feathers.

" _Tranquil, the Wild Pigeon Pokémon. Normal and flying type. No matter where in the world it goes, it knows where its nest is, so it never gets separated from its Trainer_."

"Luckily we'll never have to be separated," Warren said. "Tranquil, let's go. Use air cutter!"

"Ember!" Charlotte commanded.

"Rock throw, Amaura!" Niko called out. All four Pokémon attacked noivern, who attempted to strike back with sonicboom. However, it seemed that Pidove's evolution into tranquil energized the team, enough to give their moves the extra boost that they needed. Noivern was bombarded with a flurry of attacks and, after staring down Tranquil, it turned and walked off down the tunnel, opening the pathway for the trio.

"Well then," Charlotte said," this has certainly been an interesting day."

"You've got that right," Warren said as Tranquil perched himself on his shoulder. "Well done, Tranquil. I'm very proud of you!"

Tranquil cooed happily as the trio continued their way through Reflection Cave. As it turned out, just down at the end of the tunnel was a larger chamber that led into another tunnel—this one far larger—that then opened up to the outside world, where the trio found themselves on a cliffside overlooking a wide-open field that led into a beach and the ocean to the west.

"Another day or two," Charlotte began, "and we'll be in Shalour City."

Niko nodded as he looked out at the field during sunset. Instinctively, he placed his arms over both Warren and Charlotte as they watched the sun sink behind the ocean, bathing the world in its characteristic orange glow as he pondered their upcoming gym match. As he did so, he could have sworn he felt Charlotte lightly touch his hand with her own.


	19. A new kind of power

**Episode 19: A new kind of power**

 _Finally, we get to learn more about mega evolution_ , Niko thought to himself as he walked into Shalour City with Charlotte and Warren. Ever since seeing Elliot mega evolve his Scizor at the Vertress Conference, Niko had been interested in learning more about it. He knew the basics—one needed a Key Stone and the Pokémon's specific mega stone; and he knew that a few of his own Pokémon were capable of mega evolution, but he didn't understand much else other than that.

At the Pokémon Center, while they were healing up their teams, the trio worked through what they wanted to do first. Both Charlotte and Niko had a gym battle in Shalour City against someone named Korrina. And, as two trainers capable of mega evolution, they also had an incentive to find out more about it here, at least according to Sycamore

"The Tower of Mastery is here," Charlotte said, looking at her guidebook, "that's probably what Professor Sycamore was referring to when he mentioned that we could learn about mega evolution."

"So should we go there first? Or our gym battle?"

"Well, according to this it doesn't matter—they're the same place," Charlotte said.

"Really now…" Niko said, leaning back in their booth and crossing his arms. "Let's have the gym battle first, then, just to get that one out of the way."

"I agree. Gives us more time to focus on mega evolution. Or, rather, gives _you_ more time to."

"Right, because you technically can't yet," Niko said.

"Exactly. Say, Niko, do you plan on bringing a Pokémon over from Pallet Town?" Charlotte wondered.

"I hadn't considered it yet. Why? I don't even have a mega stone! Or a Key Stone, for that matter."

"Oh, right…" Charlotte said. "Then what are we going to be doing there?"

"I have no idea!" Niko exclaimed, raising his hands. When he noticed Charlotte's surprise at him raising his voice, he calmed down a little and continued. "Sorry, I'm just confused by all of this. I guess, to answer your question, I would bring Venusaur here, since we have the closest bond, therefore making mega evolution a little easier."

"That makes sense. But a few of your other Pokémon can too, right?"

"Yeah. I don't exactly remember which ones. I think Sceptile can…" Niko said, trying to think about what Professor Oak had told him.

"The important thing is Venusaur can," Charlotte said with a smile. "You're closest with him."

"I am. I think, if I ever get my hands on his mega stone, I'll bring him to Kalos, so we can practice."

"So…you guys gonna challenge the gym first, then?" Warren asked. When the other two nodded, he continued. "Are we going today?" Niko and Charlotte turned to look at each one, and nodded a second time.

* * *

"How do we get there?" Niko asked, raising his hands into the air as he gazed at the island off in the distance with a massive walled-off structure.

"By boat, maybe?" Charlotte asked. The trio ruminated over this for several minutes before Warren decided to ask a passerby.

"How do we get to the Tower of Mastery?" Warren asked of a short girl with long blonde hair. She wore a red and white shirt and skirt to match. Her eyes were lemon yellow, and they were gazing curiously up at Warren's.

"Why do you need to go there?" she asked.

"My friends plan on challenging the gym leader of Shalour City," Warren said cordially. Behind him, Niko and Charlotte casually waved.

"Ah, gotcha. Well, you're in luck! I'm also heading there, and can tell you exactly how to get to the island."

"Really? How?"

"Be patient," she said with a wink before walking off, not waiting to watch Warren's jaw drop to the ground.

"PATIENT!?" he shouted.

"It's fine, Warren, really," Niko said, "we'll just sit around on the beach and wait for, well, whatever it is that she implied was coming."

And the trio did. During this time, Charlotte flipped through her guidebook to read more about Shalour City. As it turned out, the Tower of Mastery was the only major attraction there, other than its excellent seaside view.

After what seemed like hours, the tide began to recede to the sides, revealing a path forward. Niko was the first to notice this, nudging Charlotte and calling out to Warren, who was training with his Tranquil and Poliwhirl. Together, the trio walked across the path, which must've been a quarter of a mile long, before reaching the Tower of Mastery. As they did, they noticed the blonde-haired girl from before walking up behind him, confidently passing them by and casually entering through the front gates of the tower.

"What's up with her?" Warren asked, still miffed by her casual, seemingly lazy response to his genuine question.

"She probably knows someone here," Niko replied.

"In fact, I do!" she said, spinning around and scaring the three of them. "Hi! I'm Korrina, the Shalour City Gym Leader!"

"You? Then why didn't you say something earlier?" Warren demanded.

Korrina shrugged. "Wasn't necessary. Anyways, you two want to challenge me? Come on in," she said in a friendly tone, hopping through the gate towards the front door of the tower. "Are you three at all familiar with the Tower of Mastery?"

"Somewhat. About as knowledgeable as any tourist would be," Niko said, looking around as they entered the main tower, which had a massive statue of a lucario in the center.

"The Tower of Mastery is where the first documented case of mega evolution occurred. Here, my ancestor and his lucario discovered the first Key Stone and mega stone, thus enabling the first mega evolution. Ever since, my ancestors have passed down knowledge of mega evolution, specifically as it relates to lucario, down through my family. Eventually, it became tradition that their descendants become the gym leader for Shalour City. My grandfather was one, and I succeeded him as one several years ago."

"Fascinating," Niko said, "so this entire tower is dedicated to lucario's mega evolution?"

"Sort of. Mega evolution more generally, but lucario is very important to my family history and to the history of mega evolution," Korrina looked back at the statue, and then at Niko and Charlotte. "So! Gym battle! Let's go!" she said, leading them down a nearby set of stairs where they entered into a massive chamber with a battlefield surrounded by curved brick walls that resembled halfpipes. Korrina took her place at one end of the battlefield just as an elderly man entered the room. Judging by the way he walked, he didn't act what Niko presumed to be his age. "This is my grandfather, Gurkinn!" Korrina said, waving a hand to the old man.

"Hello, challengers," he said with a friendly wave and smile. "Will you both be battling? Who will go first?"

Charlotte stepped forward this time, much to Niko's surprise. She turned and looked back at him. "You've gone first both times before, and you said you used to switch off with your other friends in other regions, so why not do it this time, too?"

"Alright, sure!" Niko said excitedly. "Good luck, Charlotte."

"This'll be a three-on-three Pokémon battle, alright?" Korrina stated as Gurkinn took his place on the sidelines as a referee. Charlotte nodded as well. "Let's get started, then! Mienfoo, I choose you!"

"Fighting types?" Charlotte asked curiously. "Alright…Frillish, I choose you!" she shouted, summoning the pink Floating Pokémon. "Use water pulse!"

"Mienfoo, dodge and use bounce!" Korrina shouted, clearly aware that the moves she could use were very limited. The Martial Arts Pokémon leapt into the air, clearly evading the water pulse, before somersaulting at the peak of the jump and charging down towards Frillish with its right foot forward.

"Dodge it, and use water pulse!" Charlotte commanded. Frillish slid to the left to avoid the attack, forcing Mienfoo to crash into the ground and take a water pulse to the side that launched it into the side of the gym, directly under where Niko and Warren were standing, nearly thirty feet above the ground. "Bubblebeam!"

"Mienfoo, bounce again!" Korrina shouted. Mienfoo nodded, this time only jumping half as high, so as to avoid taking any more damage. Unfortunately, this time Mienfoo struck at Frillish, forcing it into the ground. "Bounce a third time!"

"Recover, Frillish!" Charlotte commanded. A translucent white aura surrounded Frillish as she healed up before Mienfoo crash landed for a third time. "Dodge, and water pulse!" she shouted. Frillish, once again, moved out of the way just as Mienfoo struck at the ground, and launched out a water pulse at the Martial Arts Pokémon to ultimately defeat it.

"Mienfoo is unable to battle, Frillish is the winner!" Gurkinn declared. "Leader Korrina will send out her second Pokémon!"

"Frillish, return," Charlotte said. "I wanted to save you for later. You're doing really well! Skiddo, I choose you!"

"Machoke, you're up!" Korrina shouted, summoning a familiar-looking fighting type to Niko. "Brick break!"

"Skiddo, use leech seed!" Charlotte called out. The Mount Pokémon bleated as he summoned small green and orange-colored seeds from the bushes on his body and tossed them towards Machoke, who quickly began entangled in them while they sapped its energy. "Razor leaf!"

"Machoke, brick break the seeds!" Korrina shouted. Machoke roared out as it flexed and, with a straightened hand, cut at the vines erupting from the leech seed and broke them effortlessly. Freed from the energy-sapping attack, Machoke continued its charge towards Skiddo, who temporarily slowed it down with razor leaf. "Power-up punch!" she called out.

"Vine whip!" Charlotte commanded. Skiddo unleashed two vines from the sides of his neck and whipped them forward at Machoke, once more slowing it down. "Now, razor leaf again!"

This time, even though it took another pounding from razor leaf, Machoke landed a power-up punch on Skiddo, causing him to skid backwards across the brick-lain field, wincing from the attack.

"And again!" Korrina commanded. Machoke once more charged forward to hit Skiddo a second time, seemingly with more force. However, Charlotte noticed the Superpower Pokémon's exhaustion, and nodded to Skiddo.

"Razor leaf," Charlotte said simply. Skiddo bleated out, summoning a vortex of green leaves from the bushes on his body, all of them hitting and cutting at Machoke. "Now finish it off with vine whip!"

"Power-up punch!" Korrina shouted. Machoke attempted to hit a third consecutive power-up punch, but collapsed forward before it could land the attack.

"Machoke is unable to battle, Skiddo is the winner!" Gurkinn declared. "Leader Korrina will now send out her third and final Pokémon!"

 _This is easy_ , Charlotte said, _almost too easy_. "Skiddo, want to continue?" she asked of the Mounting Pokémon, who looked up at Charlotte eagerly. "Alright, let's go. This'll probably be her ace Pokémon, so we need to stay on our toes—err—hooves."

"You guess correctly, Charlotte," Korrina said with a wink. "If you were paying attention to my story, you'd already know what kind of Pokémon I have. Lucario, I choose you!"

"Lucario, of course. Skiddo, use leech seed!" Charlotte shouted. However, just before Skiddo attacked, Charlotte stopped her. "Wait a second…what's that on Lucario's arm?" she asked, referencing the red band with a small stone on it.

"Heh. My path to victory," Korrina said with a smirk, holding up her left hand, which had a fingerless glove and a white stone attached to the back of the hand. "Lucario, mega evolve!"

An orange glow emanated from Korrina's Key Stone and enveloped the area around Lucario, transforming it into an entirely new form. Now, the cream fur on its torso was longer, with its thighs slimmed down a little. More spikes developed on the back of its paws, which were now crimson-colored. Spikes also developed on both of its feet, which also turned crimson-colored. The aura-sensing appendages on its head grew longer, with two of them now crimson-tipped. A spike also sat on each shoulder.

"Mega…Lucario…" Niko said in shock, realizing that he would soon have to fight this. He suddenly felt bad for letting Charlotte go first. He didn't want to see her Pokémon potentially lose to this thing.

"Skiddo…err…use leech seed…" Charlotte said nervously.

"Lucario, bone rush!" Korrina commanded. The Aura Pokémon conjured a long, glowing-white saber between its paws that almost resembled an elongated bone. "Now!" she called out, and Lucario charged forward with blinding speed, slamming the bone into Skiddo's side and launching it towards Gurkinn, where Mienfoo had landed earlier in the battle.

"Skiddo is unable to battle, Lucario is the winner!" Gurkinn declared. "Challenger Charlotte will send out her next Pokémon!"

"Frillish, I choose you!" she shouted, hoping that the ghost and water-type could hold off Lucario enough. "Use water pulse!"

"Bone rush again!" Korrina commanded. Lucario leapt forward, clearing half of the field in a single bound, and slammed the bone onto Frillish's head, forcing her to crash into the ground. "Now, metal sound!"

"Frillish, ignore it and use water pulse!" Charlotte shouted as she covered her ears from the awful sound. Frillish made another attempt at hitting Lucario, and barely succeeded, but the aura Pokémon hardly seemed fazed by it.

"Bone rush again!" Korrina ordered. And with another whack, this time to the side, Lucario finished off Frillish as well.

"Frillish is unable to battle, Lucario is the winner!" Gurkinn declared.

"Frillish, return," Charlotte said in a depressed tone. "You did as well as you could have. Fennekin, let's go."

"Charlotte seems really down," Warren said.

"She's not used to battling mega evolutions. I mean, I'm not really either, but…this is definitely on an entirely different level than she's used to."

"Flame charge!" Charlotte called out, knowing fully well that the attack might fail. And, as expected, it did. Fennekin lit up on fire momentarily, but saw how large and imposing the Mega Lucario was that she halted her attack and merely tackled the Aura Pokémon before plopping back on the ground behind her. "Ember!"

"Aura sphere!" Korrina shouted, and Mega Lucario conjured a bright blue sphere of energy and fired it downwards at Fennekin, who took the hit and was rocketed backwards, colliding with Charlotte who was knocked off of her feet and onto her rear.

Charlotte looked with shock and awe at Fennekin, who was now unable to move.

"Fennekin is unable to battle, Lucario is the winner! And the victory goes to Gym Leader Korrina!" Gurkinn declared.

Charlotte sat there for a moment, holding her defeated Fennekin. She had never lost a gym battle before, and she didn't quite know how to feel about it. Emotions were welling up inside, ultimately coming to a climax with tears gently running down her face.

Then, through her slightly blurred vision, she looked up at a hand reaching down. It was Niko's. He helped her up and brought her and Fennekin into a hug.

"You'll get her next time," he said.

"Good luck," Charlotte managed to eventually spit out before walking off with Fennekin, up a flight of stairs to where Warren was standing. Niko then turned to face Korrina, hoping to not replicate Charlotte's defeat. His team of Pokémon, luckily, were better equipped to deal with fighting types than hers were.

By this time, Korrina had left the battlefield to heal up her team and come right back, ready for round two. In response, Niko whipped out a pokéball, also ready to fight. As expected, her first choice was Mienfoo.

"Fletchinder, you're up!" Niko shouted, summoning the Ember Pokémon. "Use agility!"

"Finally, we can fight something with our full power, Mienfoo! Use power-up punch!" Korrina shouted. The Martial Arts Pokémon dashed across the brick-lain battlefield towards Fletchinder, who was moving around the field gaining speed. Mienfoo stopped and waited for its opponent's eventual attack.

"Now, use ember!" Niko shouted, trying to keep his distance. Fletchinder obliged, firing off small fireballs at her opponent, who punched them away to keep the embers from doing any damage. "Now, use peck!"

"Here's out chance, Mienfoo! Use power-up punch!" Korrina shouted. Mienfoo's fist began to light up a bright orange and brown color as it smacked it into Fletchinder's beak, propelling both Pokémon backwards. "Double slap!"

"Fletchinder, ember again!" Niko said, cringing at little at the thought of his Pokémon's beak taking _that_ kind of hit. Fletchinder obeyed again, firing off small embers from her mouth while circling Mienfoo, who punched and kicked each one out of the way. "Now, peck again!"

Fletchinder cried out as she charged downwards at Mienfoo, using agility to fake out the Martial Arts Pokémon at the last moment and strike it in the side.

"Mienfoo, use power-up punch!" Korrina shouted. Mienfoo leapt into the air and slammed its fist on top of Fletchinder's head. The Ember Pokémon crash-landed into the ground, struggling to get back up. "Now use double-slap!"

"Fletchinder, peck!" Niko shouted. Fletchinder rose back up and began pecking at her opponent, taking the double slap while searching for weak spots. She eventually found one and struck at Mienfoo, knocking the Martial Arts Pokémon off balance. "Finish it off with quick attack!" Niko commanded. Fletchinder shot forward, striking at Mienfoo with her wings, a bright white trail of light following behind as she attacked. Mienfoo landed on its back, unable to move.

"Mienfoo is unable to battle, Fletchinder is the winner!" Gurkinn declared. "Leader Korrina will now send out her second Pokémon!"

"Fletchinder, return as well. You need your rest, and I'll need you for a later battle," Niko said, thinking about the Mega Lucario that he would inevitably face. "Swirlix, you're up!"

"Machoke, I choose you!" Korrina shouted. "Use power-up punch!"

"Fairy wind!" Niko commanded. The Cotton Candy Pokémon conjured a gust of sparkling wind that halted the Superpower Pokémon, slowing its onslaught significantly. "Now, cotton spore!"

"Machoke, focus blast!" Korrina shouted, presumably realizing that the battle would have to be fought from a distance, instead of hand-to-hand combat like the previous match. Machoke conjured a ball of pure energy in between its hands and fired it off at Swirlix, who shifted out of the way and fired back with some cotton spores that slowed down the Superpower Pokémon by landed at its feet and sticking to the ground. "Rock tomb!"

"Swirlix, we've dealt with this before!" Niko shouted. "Use fairy wind again!"

Swirlix shifted out of the way of the falling stone slabs and closed the distance between her and Machoke before using another fairy wind and knocking Machoke onto its back, its feet still stuck flat on the ground.

"Finish off with round!" Swirlix opened her mouth and sung a loud musical note, with multiple light-pink rings emitting from the mouth and at Machoke, progressively growing bigger until they hit Machoke, knocking it out.

"Machoke is unable to battle, Swirlix is the winner!" Gurkinn declared. "Leader Korrina will now send out her third and final Pokémon."

"Just like the last battle. Lucario, I choose you!" Korrina shouted, summoning the Aura Pokémon that Niko was relatively familiar with. "Now, just like last time. Mega evolve!"

"Swirlix, let's keep going! Use cotton spore!" Niko shouted, just as Lucario changed forms and conjured a bone rush saber to attack with. Swirlix, for her part, created small cotton balls that floated across the field with the intention of slowing down her opponent. Lucario batted away each one before charging at his opponent and swinging the bone at her. "Dodge and use fairy wind!" Niko shouted. Swirlix managed to barely evade the swipe from bone rush and strike with fairy wind, barely moving Mega Lucario. "Now, round!"

"Metal sound!" Korrina shouted. Mega Lucario conjured a loud, screeching metallic sound that drowned out Swirlix's attack. "Now, bone rush!"

Lucario thrust the tip of its bone saber at Swirlix, powerfully poking it in the chest and launching the Cotton Candy Pokémon backwards and into the ground. Swirlix continued to roll for a few seconds before coming to a stop near the edge of the half-pipe wall.

"Swirlix is unable to battle, Lucario is the winner! Challenger Niko will send out his next Pokémon!" Gurkinn declared.

"Clauncher, I choose you!" Niko commanded, summoning his Water Gun Pokémon. "Use water gun!"

"Lucario, aura sphere!" Korrina called out. The bone saber disappeared and, in its place a swirling ball of energy appeared. Mega Lucario fired it off, nearly hitting Clauncher, who managed to hide behind one of the rock slabs from Machoke's rock tomb. "Bone rush!"

"Clauncher, water gun!" Niko shouted. Clauncher nodded, opened up its large claw once more and shooting out a high-pressured stream of water that Mega Lucario managed to evade before swinging with bone rush. "Vice grip!"

Clauncher parried the bone rush—much to Korrina and Lucario's surprise—with his big claw, blocking the attack and retaliating with a water gun that hit Lucario in the face, knocking it backwards.

"Great job! Use bubblebeam now!" Niko shouted, suddenly excited. Clauncher continued the onslaught with a steady stream of bubbles that struck at Mega Lucario, eventually knocking it off balance.

"We're better than this, Lucario! Use aura sphere!" Korrina shouted, her Key Stone glowing. Mega Lucario fired off another ball of energy that managed to barely miss Clauncher, who retaliated with an unsuccessful water gun. "Now, bone rush!"

"Water gun again!" Niko shouted. Clauncher prepared the attack, firing up his large claw, but Mega Lucario proved to be faster this time, whacking Clauncher with the long bone saber before snapping it into two individual swords and spinning at an angle, hitting Clauncher multiple times before launching him into the side of the wall that numerous Pokémon had landed in previously.

"Clauncher is unable to battle, Lucario is the winner! Challenger Niko will now send out his final Pokémon!" Gurkinn declared.

"Geez…" Warren said, "that Mega Lucario is completely carrying Korrina's team…" he then turned to Charlotte, who had returned Fennekin by now. Her eyes were a pale red color, and her cheeks light pink. "Feeling any better?"

"Not really. I need to think more about all of this," she said quietly.

"Don't give up, whatever you do."

"I know. I won't."

"Fletchinder, I choose you!" Niko called out. "We have the advantage! Use ember!" he commanded. The fire and flying-type Pokémon rose high into the air and fired off small fireballs at her opponent, who blocked them by using bone rush. "Now, agility and peck!" Niko shouted, realizing that he needed to get a little closer. Fletchinder obliged, flying around the battlefield to gain speed while dodging aura spheres launched at it, and then diving down to use peck.

"Metal sound!" Korrina commanded. Mega Lucario then emitted a loud metallic sound that led to Swirlix's defeat earlier. Fletchinder, not prepared for this, heard the sound and wailed out before crashing into the ground. "Aura sphere!"

"Fletchinder! Get up and use ember!" Niko shouted, but the aura sphere struck too quickly, causing a heavy cloud of dust to erupt underneath. In its place lay a defeated Fletchinder.

"Fletchinder is unable to battle, Lucario is the winner!" Gurkinn declared as Mega Lucario reverted back to its normal form. "The victory goes to Gym Leader Korrina!"

"Return, buddy," Niko said with a heavy sigh. He was used to losing to gym leaders—he had on so many previous occasions. And he wasn't surprised—not like Charlotte was—since he knew his team wasn't ready to face a mega evolved Pokémon just yet. However, in order to win, they had to overcome this. He and Charlotte had to.

"Niko," Korrina said as she and Lucario approached her defeated opponent. "Is this your first time battling a mega evolved Pokémon?"

"No, it's not. Why do you ask?" Niko wondered.

"You seemed more at ease than your friend, Charlotte, was. I've only seen a handful of other trainers so relaxed, relatively speaking."

"I challenged one in the Vertress Conference in Unova," Niko said. When Korrina's eyebrow raised up, he continued. "I actually came to the Kalos region to learn more about mega evolution, as well as challenge the gyms here. My friend, Charlotte, found a mega stone for one of her Pokémon just after we arrived. Before we left, Professor Sycamore in Lumiose City told us that this was the place to go to regarding mega evolution."

"It is," Gurkinn said in a low tone. By now Charlotte and Warren had joined as well. "If you want to learn about mega evolution, this is certainly the place. Tell me, Niko, do you currently own any materials related to mega evolution?"

"No, but my first ever Pokémon is capable of it. It's a Venusaur."

"Ah, alright then. Meet me in my study in an hour. I have something to show you, Charlotte, and your Pokémon," Gurkinn said before leaving the battlefield.

"Guess we're about to learn about mega evolution," Niko said, looking down at the slightly distraught Charlotte. "I need to get Venusaur."


	20. Progress and regress

**Episode 20: Progress and regress**

"Korrina, I need a way to call my mother in Pallet Town. Do you have a phone nearby?" Niko asked.

"Of course! It's over here," the Shalour City Gym Leader said as she guided the trio into another room. There, in the back of the room, was a telephone and accompanying screen for video calling. Niko sat down, dialed the number, and waited.

"Hello? Niko?" his mother said curiously.

"Hi Mom. How are you?"

"Doing well, sweetie. What's up? Is everything alright?"

"Everything is perfectly fine. I was wondering if you could send me Venusaur."

"Oh? Of course. One moment," she said, disappearing for a moment. Suddenly Niko's Delibird appeared on the screen alongside Braviary, both of whom were excited to see him.

"Hey guys! Are you doing well?" Niko asked. Both birds nodded and cawed at him. "I'll be back home later next year. But hey, I'm on my way to the Kalos League, so I'll see you all then!" Braviary and Delibird cheered just as Niko's mom returned with a pokéball in hand.

"Here you go, Niko. I'm sending it to you right now. How is Kalos?"

"Everything is fine here. Charlotte's challenging gyms, too!" Niko said, turning to his female companion. Just then, a pokéball appeared, distracting Niko again. "Thanks!"

"Anytime. And good luck, to the both of you. Please call again sometime."

"Will do. Bye Mom! Love you," Niko said as he hung up. "Alright. Korrina, where is the study?"

"Just upstairs from here. First door on the right," she said. Niko nodded, and took Charlotte and Warren with him upstairs to Gurkinn's study. There, in a large room, surrounded by bookshelves filled with books of varying sizes, sat a desk with a single lamp on it, and Gurkinn standing next to it. He looked up with a friendly, but stern, expression.

"So you wish to learn about—and I presume use—mega evolution, correct?"

"Yes," Niko said confidently.

"Yes," Charlotte said plainly.

"Right. Well, while I don't normally do this, I believe you two are capable of using mega evolution, and will grant you both a Key Stone," Gurkinn said, holding out two rainbow-colored marbles with a curve that resembled a DNA strand. "I heard that you, Charlotte, already have a mega stone?"

"Yes, the Tyranitarite," Charlotte said, reaching into her bag and puling out the pale green, red, and black stone. "I can't use it yet, though."

"No, you can't. And that's fair. It takes time to practice mega evolution. You won't get it right on the first try. Sometimes, trainers never master it. The bond between them and their Pokémon is not strong enough."

"You said that you don't usually do this—give us the key stones, that is," Niko asked, "so why are you now?"

"Because, Niko, I know who you are, and I see potential in Charlotte," Gurkinn replied. Niko's bemused expression said it all, and Gurkinn continued. "I watched your battle during the Vertress Conference, since I knew your opponent—Elliot. I taught him about mega evolution, and gave him his Scizorite."

"Really? Elliot was here?"

"Yes, he competed in the Kalos League and placed second," Gurkinn replied. "Talented trainer, and his bond with Scizor was unmatched. He immediately mastered mega evolution."

"I see…" Niko said, thinking back to his battle against Elliot in the semifinals. "Well, I want to be a Pokémon Master, and so I believe mastering mega evolution is a part of that." Niko said, pulling out a pokéball. "And I have my Venusaur to learn it with me."

"Ah, a Venusaur," Gurkinn said. "Let me see…" he turned around to a shelf lines with a variety of different colored stones, presumably mega stones. After looking around for a minute, he finally said a slightly audible "ah" and picked off a stone from the top shelf. "Here, Niko. This is for you."

Niko took the stone from Gurkinn's hand and looked at it. It was a sky-blue color with a mixture of gray and green and pale pink in the middle. "Is this…?"

"Venusaur's mega stone. Yes," Gurkinn said.

"Why are you giving me this? What did I do to earn it?"

"You've defeated a mega evolved Pokémon before. I think you're ready for one," Gurkinn said with a smirk. "Like I said, I don't do this often, so take care of that stone. It's worth more than you are."

"Do you collect these?" Warren asked, looking at the stones on the shelf.

"Yes. Now that I am no longer a gym leader, I travel around Kalos—and the world—in search of mega stones. It's only proper that the site of the first mega evolution become a storage of those found around the world," Gurkinn explained. "And you, my friend, are travelling with talented trainers here. They deserve to use the mega stones."

"But we lost to your granddaughter," Charlotte said quietly, finally speaking. "I don't think I deserve this kind of power."

"Heh, plenty of trainers lose to my granddaughter, Charlotte," Gurkinn said. "And many quit afterwards. It doesn't look like you'll be quitting anytime soon, and there's still potential in you. Your battle was impressive, if I do say so myself."

Charlotte looked down at the key stone, and nodded. "Alright. Anyway, thank you. I really appreciate this."

"So do I," Niko said, "I'll make sure I prove my worth with it."

"I know you will," Gurkinn said with a plain smile. "Now, go practice. If you hope to defeat Korrina, you must better understand mega evolution."

Niko and Charlotte nodded and, together with Warren, left the room, and the Tower of Mastery, behind them.

* * *

Back on the beach to the west of Shalour City, Niko pulled out Venusaur's pokéball and tossed it on the ground. It opened up to reveal the Seed Pokémon happily standing there in front of Niko.

"Hey buddy," Niko said, walking forward and hugging the side of his Pokémon. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Venus. Venusaur."

"Yeah, I missed you too. Anyway, I wanted to bring you here, so we could try something together. It's called mega evolution, and it's part of the reason why I travelled to Kalos."

Venusaur looked as Niko pulled out the Key Stone and Venusaurite. The Seed Pokémon took a step forward and leaned towards the mega stone, eying it with a wonder Niko had never seen his Pokémon express.

"I don't think even Venusaur knows what to think about it," Warren said as he stood by Niko.

"What this does is evolves you into a higher form. Kinda like what we fought back in Vertress City, remember?" Venusaur thought about it for a moment before nodding, clearly thinking back to his battle with Elliot's Mega Scizor. "We're going to do something similar to that. Here I have a Key Stone and your specific mega stone. And…well, I don't know what to do next, actually."

"Maybe say something like: Venusaur, mega evolve?" Warren suggested. "That's what Elliot and Korrina both said. Oh, and Diantha, too."

"Right. Venusaur, mega evolve!" Niko shouted, but nothing happened. "Oh, you need the mega stone first," Niko placed the stone in front of Venusaur, who pressed his front foot on top of it. "Alright, then: Venusaur, mega evolve!"

A bright light engulfed the both of them—trainer and Pokémon. Niko then noticed energy transferring from the Key Stone to Venusaur and the mega stone via orange and white tendrils. The energy surrounded the Seed Pokémon, changing his form moments later.

Now, Venusaur was larger. The flower on his back grew, and two smaller pink flowers blossomed—one on his forehead, and the other on his rear. Now, his legs were sturdier, presumably to support the new flowers. Additional leaves with woody stems grew around the base of the flower. Dark markings also appeared on his forehead near the pink flower.

"Woah…" Warren said as he looked up in awe at Mega Venusaur.

"How do you feel, buddy?" Niko asked. Venusaur looked around, as if confused. "Hey, Venusaur, right here."

The Seed Pokémon then turned and stared at Niko, but eventually nodded in recognition. For a moment, Niko thought the mega evolution had given his Pokémon amnesia.

"So, now that I've mega evolved my Pokémon, what should I do?" Niko wondered aloud.

"See what it can do?" Warren asked. "Or…maybe tomorrow," he said as he looked up at the night sky. "It's getting pretty late.

"You're right. Charlotte?" Niko asked, looking around for his female companion. He found her sitting on a nearby rock, looking out at the ocean. "Charlotte?"

"Oh, hey Niko. Woah, nice job with the mega evolution," she said plainly.

"Thanks. Are you alright?" he asked as he crouched down next to the rock she was sitting on.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Just a lot on my mind, I guess."

"Anything you want to talk about?" Niko asked, only to see her shake her head.

"No, I just need some rest I think. It's been a long day. I lost a gym battle, finally have a Key Stone. I just need to take a couple days to get myself back together."

"I understand. We should take our time before we rematch Korrina. Anyway, let's head back to the Pokémon Center," Niko said, standing up and returning Venusaur to his pokéball. A minute or so later, Charlotte got up as well and followed behind Niko and Warren.

* * *

"Alright guys, meet my first ever Pokémon!" Niko said as he threw out Venusaur's pokéball. The Seed Pokémon shot out of the ball and looked down at Chespin, Fletchinder, Swirlix, Amaura, and Clauncher. "Venusaur, these are my new Pokémon."

Venusaur nodded to each of them, all of whom paused and looked in awe at the Pokémon. Fletchinder was the friendliest of the bunch, rising a foot off of the ground and lightly tapping Venusaur's cheek with her beak. Fortunately, Venusaur seemed to take the gesture well enough, whipping out one of his green vines and lightly tapping Fletchinder back. He then turned to Chespin in particular and held out his vine, to which the Spiny Nut reluctantly responded by shaking the vine with his own.

"Venusaur is here to practice mega evolution. While we do that, I want you all to train for our rematch with Korrina, alright?" Niko asked. He then sent them off to practice on the beach alongside Warren and Charlotte while he turned his attention to Venusaur.

Meanwhile, Charlotte and her Pokémon began their training for a rematch with Korrina. In particular, Fennekin and Skiddo immediately began working, as they seemed to feel inadequate compared to the mega-evolved Lucario. Charlotte, for her part, didn't know what to do besides belt out commands. She felt like she lost confidence in herself and lost a connection with her Pokémon that she desperately needed. And, to top it off, the one person she felt completely confident in talking to was busy with his own ventures.

 _Why does he have to work on mega evolution_ now _? Isn't the rematch more important?_ Charlotte thought to herself as she turned her look of scorn away from Niko and towards Fennekin, who continued her attempts at mastering flame charge.

"Hey Charlotte, need a battling partner?" Warren asked, with Poliwhirl at his side.

"Sure, that'd be great. Fennekin, Skiddo, you up for it?" she asked. Both Pokémon nodded, and Warren summoned Leavanny to help out as well. The four Pokémon then began their practice battle, with Charlotte trying to take it as seriously as she would any ordinary gym battle.

"Venusaur, mega evolve!" Niko shouted, lightly touching the Key Stone in his hands. It erupted into the same light that he saw the previous evening that ultimately changed Venusaur's form. "Alright, let's see what you can do! Venusaur, use razor leaf!"

Venusaur turned towards the ocean so as to not harm any of the other Pokémon training. Niko looked in awe at the sheer power of the razor leaf. Not only was the volume of leaves released higher, but they were also released faster, moving at a pace he could hardly see.

"This…is…so… _cool_!" Niko shouted excitedly. "Well done, Venusaur!"

Venusaur turned to Niko and smiled happily, feeling good that his trainer was also relishing in his newfound power.

Then something burst within him, and Venusaur roared out, his pupils thinning as well. He began to shake slowly, and then violently. Niko's eyes widened as he had no idea what to do. _What's going on_? Niko wondered. Then, without any commands, Venusaur used frenzy plant on the beach, unleashing large, spiked roots from out of the sandy surface. Most of the Pokémon training managed to get out of the way; Fletchinder tackled Niko to the ground to move him away from a root that came out from under him.

"Charlotte!" Niko said as he hit the sand, noticing his friend nearly get whacked by a root. That same root whipped back again towards a frightened Charlotte. Just as she was about to get hit, Fennekin burst from the left, body aflame and a bright light illuminating her, and collided with it just as she got hit as well. "Fennekin!"

"Fennekin!" Charlotte screamed, getting up and grabbing her Pokémon, which no longer looked like Fennekin. "Are you _okay_?"

"Venusaur! Calm down!" Niko shouted, getting back up and running towards the Seed Pokémon. "Buddy…it's…it's me…" he said softly, rubbing Venusaur's head. He then placed his forehead against his Pokémon's, which seemed to calm down the mega-evolved Pokémon. Venusaur then reverted back to his original state and took a deep breath of relief. "What happened there?"

"WHAT THE HELL?" Charlotte screamed at Venusaur. "WHAT WAS THAT?"

Niko and Venusaur both turned to look at Charlotte, who was cradling a Pokémon much larger—and less familiar—than Fennekin. Like Fennekin, the majority of its fur was yellow, but it now had two black legs; white arms, face, and neck; and a dark orange tail tip. The fur on its cheeks was longer, and a small mane of white fur covered its shoulders and chest. Long, wavy tufts of dark orange fur grew out of its large ears—similar to Fennekin—and its eyes and small nose matched this fur in color. Above its legs, the fur swept out to either side like a dress might. Lastly, there was a stick in its tail, for whatever reason.

"Charlotte—I don't know—"

"I don't _care_ , Niko!" Charlotte screamed at him. The entire beach around them was dead silent. "Get that thing _away_. And _stop_ trying out this mega evolution BS and focus on your rematch! You are being _so_ irresponsible!"

"How am I—fine," Niko said, turning to Venusaur, who looked genuinely distraught. "I'm sorry for all of this, Venusaur. I—" Niko paused as Venusaur turned and walked away. "Venusaur, wait!"

Niko walked in front of the Seed Pokémon, who did not hesitate to pick his trainer up with his vines and move Niko to the side.

"Venusaur, you can't just leave. I have your pokéball right here," Niko said, holding it out. Venusaur turned back to his trainer and eyed the pokéball specifically. "Do you want to go home?" Venusaur nodded. "Alright, that's fair. I'm sorry about this, buddy. I really am."

He returned Venusaur and looked at his Pokémon, who had all stopped their training, and then to Charlotte's Pokémon, who looked at him with surprise and disdain. Then, in the center of it all, he saw Charlotte, Warren, and Fennekin's evolved form returning to a pokéball. Charlotte stood up, returned the rest of her Pokémon, and walked off of the beach, not even glancing at Niko.

"Sorry bud," Warren said with a shrug, leaving Niko alone with his Pokémon on the beach looking out towards the Tower of Mastery.

* * *

" _Braixen, the Fox Pokémon. Fire type. It has a twig stuck in its tail. With friction from its tail fur, it sets the twig on fire and launches into battle_ ," Charlotte's pokédex declared as she looked on from outside the emergency room in Shalour City's Pokémon Center.

"So Fennekin evolved to…help me?" Charlotte said.

"And it looked like she mastered flame charge, too," Warren added with a smile. "I just wish we knew why Niko's Venusaur went crazy."

"I wish I did too. Was I too harsh on him?" she asked, looking concerned. "I don't want him to be mad at me because I overreacted."

"Well, for starters, you didn't overreact. Your Pokémon got seriously hurt because of something his Pokémon did. However, it was clearly out of his and Venusaur's control," Warren then paused for a moment to consider his next statement. "I think we should ask Gurkinn about this, too. It'll help for whenever you try out mega evolution."

"I agree. But I think we need to wait a few days. I need to see if Braixen is alright, plus continue training for the rematch," Charlotte said. "I just hope she's alright…"

"She will be, Charlotte," Warren aid, putting an arm around his friend.

Just then, they noticed Niko walk up towards them. "I sent Venusaur back to Pallet Town," he said before looking away. "Charlotte, I—"

"It's fine, Niko," Charlotte replied, looking at Niko with a half-smile. "You had no control over it. And, clearly, I lost control of my own emotions. Braixen is fine, or at least she should be, and we can get back to training in the morning."

"Braixen…?"

"Yes, Fennekin evolved while taking the hit from Venusaur's frenzy plant. Apparently she also seemed to use flame charge successfully, according to Warren."

"Oh. Well, congrats," Niko said, sitting down on a nearby chair.

"You alright?" Charlotte asked as she sat next to him.

"I just feel terrible. You're right, Charlotte: I was irresponsible. I was too caught up in trying to learn mega evolution when I should have focused on the other, more important things, like my rematch. I wasn't planning on using Venusaur anyways, especially now."

"You came to Kalos to learn this—this is why we're here, Niko! I overreacted, and for that I'm really sorry. But you shouldn't give up on mega evolution because of one incident!"

"I am, Charlotte. I'm not trying that again. Not if it means that I could hurt the people around me that I care about. Venusaur agrees with me, and won't mega evolve again either."

"Either way, we should tell Gurkinn about this," Warren said.

"I really don't care what Gurkinn has to say, Warren," Niko snapped back.

"Okay, fine then. You wallow in self-pity, and I'll try to find answers," Warren said decisively. He got up and left, leaving Niko and Charlotte alone in the Pokémon Center.

"Are you actually giving up on mega evolution?" Charlotte asked.

"Yep. I wasn't kidding," Niko said plainly.

"I think that's a mistake, but I understand why you're doing it," Charlotte said, looking back towards the emergency room window where Braixen was laying. "I'll need to keep it in mind when Larvitar eventually evolves into Tyranitar."

"Or just save yourself the time and not mega evolve. It'll stop anyone from getting hurt."

"Look, just because you had a misfire doesn't mean we all will!"

"Right, like Elliot? Or Korrina? Or Diantha? Yeah, some people have no problem with mega evolution, Charlotte, and some do! There's no point in trying if Venusaur can't control it."

"I suppose so. I just don't want to see you give up like that," Charlotte said, resting her hand on Niko's arm.

"I'm giving up because it's the best-case scenario for everyone. I can battle just fine without it."

"I can respect that," Charlotte said. And together, the two sat in the Pokémon Center and waited for Braixen to fully recover.


	21. The evolution fighter!

**Episode 21: The evolution fighter!**

"Warren?" Gurkinn said curiously as he looked up from a book he was reading at his desk to see the tall, brown-haired trainer standing in the doorway. "What can I do for you?"

"Niko tried mega evolution today," Warren said, not looking directly at Gurkinn when he did so, "and it went awry really quick."

"Awry…how?" Gurkinn asked, raising his eyebrow with interest.

"Venusaur lost complete control of himself. He started shaking violently, and I noticed his pupils thinned. He then used frenzy plant and nearly hurt Charlotte."

"Ah, he can't control all of that power. That's completely normal for a Pokémon undergoing mega evolution for the first time."

"Tell that to Niko: he and Venusaur pledged to never again mega evolve."

"Also understandable. As I told you three yesterday, some trainers never master it, and rarely do any master it on their first try. Niko's friend Elliot is one of the few that I've seen," Gurkinn then moved his chair back and stood up. "Korrina actually had enormous difficulty mastering mega evolution, did you know that?"

"I didn't," Warren admitted.

"Her Lucario couldn't control it at first, and it took several more tries and a longer journey to understand it. I sent her to a friend of mine to help her understand it, and even then they needed to find something within themselves to strengthen that bond. Technically, part of the problem was Lucario not knowing how to control his specific powers, but the principle likely extends to Venusaur as well. The way I see it, this is a two-part problem: Niko's confidence in himself and his bond, and Venusaur's inability to control his new powers."

"That makes a lot of sense, considering the trainer's bond is indicative of how well the evolution will go," Warren said. "Thanks, Gurkinn. I appreciated this."

"Of course, Warren. And best of luck to your friends," Gurkinn said before sitting back down at his desk.

Warren went back to the Pokémon Center to relay what he learned to Niko and Charlotte. Gurkinn's conclusion seemed to upset Niko, and didn't surprise Charlotte in the least.

"Venusaur is my first Pokémon, Warren! I have the strongest bond with him!" Niko argued.

"Well, guess not as well as you though, according to the master of mega evolution," Warren said with a shrug. "How's Braixen doing?"

"Better. She'll be ready to continue training tomorrow," Charlotte said with a sigh. "I hope that evolution will be enough to take on Korrina's Lucario."

"It will be. You two got close last time. You just need to focus specifically on that Lucario, since Mienfoo and Machoke went down without defeating any of your other Pokémon," Warren said. "Compared to Lucario they seemed like lightweights."

"Knowing how Mega Lucario fights, it definitely changes my strategy a little," Niko said. "I think Clauncher can handle it, but he needs to train a little more. He needs something different to attack with."

"Actually, he might," Charlotte said, pulling out her pokédex to Niko's surprise. "Do you know what Clauncher's ability is?"

"No, what is it?"

Charlotte pushed her pokédex across the table to show Niko. "It's called Mega Launcher. Pulse and aura moves are powered up when Clauncher uses them."

"Woah. So I should teach him how to use water pulse, then," Niko commented.

"And any other 'pulse' move you can think of. But water pulse is a good start," Charlotte said with a warm smile. "Just thought you'd like to know that."

"Thanks, Charlotte," Niko said, returning the smile.

* * *

The next few days were spent on the beach training with their Pokémon. Charlotte began to understand Braixen's abilities, and saw her finally use flame charge with her own eyes. Her other Pokémon continued their training, with Larvitar getting a little better at rock slide.

Niko, on the other hand, put all of his time and energy into his training, especially in light of the incident with Venusaur. In particular, he worked with Clauncher to learn water pulse after explaining to the Water Gun Pokémon the ability he had. The others continued training, too, with Chespin only joining in later after watching how much stronger Clauncher got after figuring out water pulse.

On the fifth day since their first attempt at defeating Korrina, Niko and Charlotte returned to the gym at low tide at sunset. As they entered the main room of the tower, they saw someone skating down the spiral staircase before jumping high into the air, flipping around, and landing perfectly still on the ground in front of them.

"Welcome to the Shalour City Gym—again!" Korrina said with a smile. "You two ready for your rematch?"

"Yes," Niko and Charlotte said together.

"Excellent. Let's get started, then!" Korrina said, excitedly skating down the hall towards another set of stairs where she grinded on the rail down to the bottom and landed gracefully once again. By the time Niko and his friends made it to the battlefield at the bottom, Korrina and Gurkinn were both waiting for them. "You guys are so slow!" she said in mock complaint. "Who's going first!?"

"I will. Just like last time," Charlotte said, stepping forward towards the end of the field she was at last time while Niko and Warren took their places standing in the hallway above the battlefield, overlooking the fight. Gurkinn was just below them.

Gurkinn once more explained the rules of the match and, like last time, Charlotte and Korrina opened up their first pokéballs and began the match.

"Mienfoo, I choose you!" Korrina shouted.

"Skiddo, you're up!" Charlotte shouted. "Use leech seed!"

"Bounce!" Korrina commanded. Mienfoo evaded the leech seeds and leapt high into the air, extending its right foot as it began to descend to the ground. Skiddo shifted out of the way as Mienfoo crashed into the ground and used razor leaf on Charlotte's command. The Martial Arts Pokémon then attempted to use power-up punch, which Skiddo managed to dodge once again, albeit barely this time.

"Vine whip!" Charlotte shouted. Skiddo came to a halt, spun around, and unleashed two green vines from his bush and wrapped them around Mienfoo's wrist. "And pull!" she said.

Skiddo retracted his vines and pulled Mienfoo inwards before unleashing a razor leaf just as the Martial Arts Pokémon used a power-up punch up close, launching Skiddo backwards. The Mount Pokémon came to a stop, took a deep breath, and used another razor leaf that Mienfoo dodged with hi jump kick.

"Vine whip again!" Charlotte shouted. Skiddo whipped out two more green vines to grab Mienfoo's glowing foot. The vines wrapped around and Skiddo slammed Mienfoo into the brick-lain ground, resulting in a loud crash.

"Mienfoo is unable to battle, Skiddo is the winner! Leader Korrina will send out her second Pokémon!" Gurkinn declared.

"Mienfoo, return. Take a long rest. Machoke, I choose you!"

"Skiddo, do you want to continue?" Charlotte asked. The Mount Pokémon turned and nodded at his trainer, suddenly feeling a rush of confidence. "Right, we've defeated Machoke before. Let's do it again! Skiddo, use razor leaf!"

"Machoke, focus blast!" Korrina commanded. Machoke leaned down to create a ball of pure energy between its palms and fired it off through the torrent of leaves at Skiddo, who took the hit and was launched backwards.

"Skiddo, can you keep going?" Charlotte asked. The Mount Pokémon, surprised by the attack, nodded and got back up. "Use leech seed!"

"Machoke, power-up punch!" Korrina commanded. The Superpower Pokémon charged forward at Skiddo, its fist lighting up in a swirl of orange and pink. Skiddo, meanwhile, fired off a series of small seed at Machoke, each of them landing successfully. Vines erupted out of them and entangled the fighting-type, suddenly sapping its energy. "Brick break on the vines, just like last time!"

"Not so fast! Skiddo, use razor leaf!" Charlotte shouted. Skiddo unleashed a series of sharp leaves from his bush, hitting Machoke relentlessly. "Now, vine whip!"

While the leech seed continued to drain Machoke, the Superpower Pokémon found one of his wrists wrapped from vine whip. Korrina then commanded him to pull on the vine. Machoke did so, and dragged Skiddo forward.

"Power-up punch!" Korrina shouted. Machoke pulled back his other fist and slammed it against Skiddo's face, forcing the Mount Pokémon to retract his vine whip and repel backwards towards Charlotte.

"Skiddo is unable to battle, Machoke is the winner! Challenger Charlotte will now use her second Pokémon!"

"Frillish, I choose you!" Charlotte shouted, summoning the pink Floating Pokémon. "Use water pulse!"

"Rock tomb!" Korrina commanded. While still subject to the leech seed, Machoke cried out to the heavens, summoning massive slabs of rock from above. Frillish managed to evade each one and land a successful water pulse, hitting Machoke in the side of the body.

"Ominous wind!" Charlotte called out. Frillish created a gust of purple wind from its mouth and fired it at Machoke, knocking the Superpower Pokémon to the ground. "Follow up with water pulse!"

"Machoke, rock tomb!" Korrina shouted. This time, Machoke managed to encase Frillish in the rock tomb, but it didn't seem to last long—Frillish burst through it with water pulse and fired off a second on her opponent. The water burst on contact, leaving Machoke laying there in defeat.

"Machoke is unable to battle, Frillish is the winner! Leader Korrina will send out her third and final Pokémon."

"Here we go…" Charlotte said. "Frillish, are you absolutely ready for this?" Frillish nodded, not even looking back at Charlotte—her eyes were fixed on Korrina and her third pokéball.

"Lucario, I choose you!" Korrina shouted, summoning the Aura Pokémon. "Mega evolve!"

"Wasting no time, I take it. Frillish, be ready," Charlotte said, briefly closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. _We can do this. We know how fast Mega Lucario is. We know its moves. We know how it moves_. "Frillish, water pulse!"

"Lucario, block it with bone rush!" Korrina commanded. As expected, the mega-evolved Lucario conjured a bright saber in the shape of a bone between his palms and used it to whack the water pulse away. "Well done, now use bone rush on Frillish!"

"Frillish, ominous wind!" Charlotte commanded. Fortunately, the eerie wind managed to slow down Mega Lucario, if only for a moment. But Lucario quickly closed the gap between it and Frillish and attempted to strike at the Floating Pokémon, who barely evaded the attack before firing off a water pulse, hitting Lucario in the side of the face. Frillish and Lucario both fell, backwards and to the side, before quickly getting back up simultaneously.

"Bone rush!" Korrina shouted, impressed by how long Frillish was lasting this time. Lucario created another glowing white saber and split it in half this time before spinning around and whacking Frillish multiple times, eventually launching her across the floor of the brick-lain battlefield.

"Ominous wind!" Charlotte shouted out. Frillish fired off a gust of purple wind at Lucario, who shot forward regardless and struck at Frillish with both bone sabers, creating an "x" with them and thrusting them into the ground around Frillish's neck. Lucario then raised them up and, jumping back, spun around again to whack Frillish with them.

"Frillish is unable to battle, Lucario is the winner! Challenger Charlotte will now send out her third and final Pokémon!" Gurkinn declared.

"Frillish, return," Charlotte said with a smile. "You did really well. I'm very proud of you. Braixen, it's up to you now!" Charlotte shouted, summoning the newly-evolved Fox Pokémon. "Are you ready for this?" she asked. Braixen nodded, staring down Mega Lucario.

"Bone rush!" Korrina commanded.

"Flame charge!" Charlotte shouted. Braixen crouched low, bending her knees slightly before rocketing off towards Lucario, who created another bone saber and also charged at its opponent. Lucario managed to close the gap first, whacking Braixen in the side, but not before taking an ember attack from its new opponent. Lucario then took a knee, wincing a little from the ember that ultimately left a burn on its shoulder. _It's going to work…_ Charlotte thought to herself. "Flame charge again!"

Braixen charged once more, slamming into Mega Lucario and knocking it down before taking another bone rush to the face.

"Power-up punch!" Korrina shouted. Lucario spun back around, getting back on its feet, and charged again at Braixen, who took yet another opportunity to use flame charge, once more hitting Mega Lucario first and knocking him to the ground before he could land his attack.

"FLAME CHARGE!" Charlotte shouted once again. Braixen lit herself on fire once more and, now blindingly fast, slammed into Mega Lucario and dragged it across the battlefield before colliding with the wall behind Korrina.

"Aura sphere!" Korrina declared, and Braixen was thrust backwards across the field before hitting one of the stone slabs from rock tomb earlier in the battle. Braixen fell to one knee, looking back up at Mega Lucario, who stumbled back onto the field. "Bone rush!"

"Flame charge!" Charlotte shouted. Instead, Braixen pulled out the twig from her tail and showed it to Charlotte. "What?" she asked as it lit on fire. "Oh…alright. Braixen, attack!"

The Fox Pokémon charged at Mega Lucario, her twig lighting on fire and somehow not burning up, and met her opponent in the middle of the field for a sparring match, each Pokémon attempting to strike with their weapon of choice, parrying one another's attacks. It was a sight to behold from Charlotte's perspective, but she wanted to win. And so when she noticed Lucario's burn mark was acting up, she got an idea.

"Braixen, ember on its shoulder!" Charlotte commanded. Braixen locked Lucario in place with her flaming twig and turned to her opponent's right shoulder and fired off a series of embers. This forced Mega Lucario to the ground on one knee. "Finish it off with flame charge!"

Braixen lit up on fire and charged down Mega Lucario, bursting across the field like a flash before running the Aura Pokémon into the same wall as before. Only this time, when Braixen left it, Mega Lucario fell forward and changed back to its original form.

"Lucario is unable to battle, Braixen is the winner. The victory goes to Charlotte from Castelia City!" Gurkinn declared.

"Yes! Lucario, we did it!" Charlotte cheered happily, running onto the field to embrace her exhausted Fox Pokémon. She then turned to the stands, watching Niko walk down the steps towards the field. "Good luck, buddy."

"Thanks, and congrats. You earned that one," Niko said politely. He then waited for Korrina to return, pondering his own strategy.

He didn't have to wait long—Korrina returned minutes later looking just as refreshed as she had when she first met them that day. Gurkinn, as usual, explained the rules of the match, and Niko and Korrina then sent out their first Pokémon.

"Mienfoo, I choose you!"

"Swirlix, you're up!" Niko shouted. "Use fairy wind!"

"Mienfoo, bounce!" Korrina commanded. Just like before, the Martial Arts Pokémon leapt high into the air and spun around before beginning its descent towards Swirlix, who quickly moved out of the way and struck Mienfoo with fairy wind, blowing it away and causing it to land just on the edge of the battlefield.

"Cotton spore!" Niko shouted. Swirlix conjured up small balls of white cotton and sent them floating towards Mienfoo, who jumped and evaded each one before charging at Swirlix with power-up punch, knocking the Cotton Candy Pokémon backwards. "Fairy wind!"

"Hi jump kick!" Korrina shouted, quickly realizing that it might not have been the best move. Yet Mienfoo obliged, leaping into the air and quickly diving back down, foot forward, towards Swirlix, who blasted a sparkling gust of wind upwards at the Martial Arts Pokémon, launching it through the air and into the ground nearby.

"Mienfoo is unable to battle, Swirlix is the winner! Leader Korrina will send out her next Pokémon!" Gurkinn declared, raising an eyebrow in surprise.

"Return, Mienfoo. You've gotten better, Niko. Well done. Machoke, you're up!" she shouted, summoning the Superpower Pokémon. "Use power-up punch!"

"Swirlix, fairy wind!" Niko commanded. The Cotton Candy Pokémon quickly conjured another sparkling gust of wind that blew Machoke backwards, preventing it from using its attack. "Now, cotton spore!"

"Machoke, rock tomb!" Korrina shouted. Machoke cried out, summoning slabs from midair just as it did during its battle against Charlotte. Like before, they successfully landed, hitting Swirlix, who was launched backwards from the force of the attack. "Now, focus blast!"

A ball of energy appeared between Machoke's palms as he threw it at Swirlix, who rolled to the side to dodge before spewing out cotton spores from her mouth. All of them hit Machoke, slowing it down significantly. Now, Niko saw his chance to attack.

"Fairy wind!" Niko commanded. Swirlix charged towards Machoke and shot a final, powerful gust of wind at Machoke, launching it backwards and onto the ground. Machoke slowly got up and back onto his feet, launching a focus blast that hit Swirlix. "Fairy wind again!"

Once more, Swirlix blew a gust of wind from across the battlefield at Machoke, once more knocking it over, this time for good.

"Machoke is unable to battle, Swirlix is the winner! Leader Korrina will send out her third and final Pokémon!" Gurkinn declared.

"Geez…Niko is sweeping the floor with Swirlix," Warren observed, looking thoroughly surprised.

"He and Swirlix are strong enough to handle those two. It's Lucario he really has to focus on. That was my strategy, at least," Charlotte replied.

"Lucario, I choose you! Mega evolve!" Korrina shouted, once again placing two fingers on her Key Stone, causing Lucario to change forms. "Use bone rush!"

"Cotton spore!" Niko commanded. _This is where the real battle begins, right?_ he thought to himself. Swirlix whipped up white balls of cotton and thrust them at Mega Lucario, who blocked each one with bone rush before charging at Swirlix with its white bone saber. "Block it with fairy wind!"

Mega Lucario charged through the fairy wind and struck Swirlix across the side with bone rush, launching her into the ground. Then, on Korrina's command, Lucario conjured and threw and aura sphere at Swirlix, who managed to block it with cotton spore on Niko's command.

"Fairy wind!" Niko shouted.

"Metal sound!" Korrina commanded. Mega Lucario cried out, emitting a sharp, ear-piercing metallic sound that broke Swirlix's concentration and ended the fairy wind. "Now, bone rush!"

Mega Lucario created another bone saber and whacked Swirlix with it, as if the Aura Pokémon was golfing. Swirlix was rocketed to the left of the battlefield, landing in the wall. As soon as she hit the ground, she was unable to move.

"Swirlix is unable to battle, Lucario is the winner! Challenger Niko will now send out his second Pokémon!" Gurkinn declared.

"Fletchinder, I choose you!" Niko commanded. "Use agility!"

"Lucario, aura sphere!" Korrina commanded. Just like in their last match, Fletchinder flew around the battlefield, ignoring the aura spheres being hurled at her while picking up speed. She then fired off a series of small embers at Mega Lucario on Niko's command. To this, Lucario spun around its bone saber to block most of the embers before throwing the saber at Fletchinder, who managed to barely evade it. "Metal sound!"

"Fletchinder, ignore it and use ember!" Niko commanded. The Ember Pokémon tried to ignore the sound, but couldn't, and ultimately lost control of her speed and crashed into the ground. "Ember, Fletchinder!"

"Lucario, aura sphere!" Korrina shouted. Mega Lucario conjured a swirling blue ball of aura energy and fired it at the exhausted Fletchinder, knocking her backwards. "And again!"

"EMBER!" Niko called out. Fletchinder, this time, slowly got back up and shot a series of embers at her opponent, who managed to block them with a hastily-conjured bone rush. "Use quick attack!"

"Block Fletchinder with bone rush!" Korrina shouted. Lucario thrust its bone saber out and slammed it into Fletchinder, hitting the Ember Pokémon with the front end of it and thrusting her backwards. Fletchinder crashed onto the ground on her back, unable to battle.

"Fletchinder is unable to battle, Lucario is the winner! Challenger Niko will now send out his third and final Pokémon!" Gurkinn declared.

"Alright, it's up to you, buddy," Niko said, pulling out his final pokéball. "Clauncher, I choose you!"

"Lucario, bone rush!" Korrina shouted.

"Clauncher, water pulse!" Niko commanded. Like they had practiced, Clauncher opened up his large blue claw and, as his entire body began to pulsate, fired off a massive blue orb of water at rapid speed, striking Mega Lucario and knocking it backwards. "Yes! Now, water gun!"

"Aura sphere!" Korrina said. Lucario nodded, shaking its head and quickly firing off its own attack. Both the aura sphere and water gun met in the middle of the field, resulting in a stalemate. "Bone rush!"

"Water pulse, again!" Niko shouted. Clauncher opened his claw again and fired off a high-speed water pulse that Lucario managed to evade this time. "Now, use vice grip!" Niko commanded, thrusting his palm outwards. Clauncher leapt into action, his large claw glowing bright white as he opened it and grabbed onto Lucario's bone saber. "Water gun!" Niko called out.

Clauncher released a high-pressured blast of water at the Aura Pokémon, launching both of them backwards, but only the former managed to land successfully; Lucario stumbled a little before regaining its own composure.

"Metal sound!" Korrina commanded. Mega Lucario got lot to the ground and emitted the same ear-piercing sound that got Swirlix. Clauncher, who was ready for this, attempted to close his mind off to it, ultimately failing once again. "Now, bone rush!"

Mega Lucario quickly conjured a bone saber once more and charged at Clauncher before whacking it in the side, just as it did with Swirlix earlier. The Water Gun Pokémon was launched towards Charlotte and Warren, just barely missing them.

"Use water gun to break your fall!" Niko shouted. Clauncher obeyed, using water gun to slow himself down and land gracefully on the ground. "Now, vice grip!"

"Lucario, swords dance!" Korrina shouted as they waited for Clauncher to charge at them. "Now, bone rush!"

"Dodge!" Niko called out. Clauncher shifted to the side as he dodged the bone rush being brought down on him. "Now, hit it with water pulse!"

"Block it!" Korrina shouted. Mega Lucario attempted to block with bone rush, but was hit by the powered-up water pulse, launching it backwards and onto the ground. "Lucario!"

Mega Lucario slowly got back up, staring directly at Clauncher as it did so. In response, Clauncher snapped his large claw a few times, presumably saying something along the lines of "bring it," Lucario then nodded, and got back up, straightening itself.

"Aura sphere!"

"Water pulse!" Niko commanded. Clauncher, this time, was faster, firing off the high-powered orb of water at his opponent. The attack landed just as Lucario fired off its own aura sphere, but Clauncher managed to dodge that one. Lucario took a step forward, stared at Clauncher once more, and collapsed onto the ground, reverting back to its original form.

"Lucario is unable to battle, Clauncher is the winner! And the victory goes to Niko from Pallet Town!" Gurkinn declared.

Niko let out a deep sigh of relief as he looked at Clauncher, who turned back and nodded at him as well. "You did really well, buddy."

Clauncher was returned to his pokéball as Korrina, Lucario, and Gurkinn approached Niko and, moments later, Charlotte as well.

"Niko, Charlotte, you both proved worthy of not just handling mega evolution, but also of defeating a mega-evolved Pokémon. Here, as proof of your victories today, I award you both with the Rumble Badge."

Korrina held out two small badges in the shape of two fists clashing against one another. Niko and Charlotte each took the badge and looked at one another, smiling.

"Niko," Gurkinn began, turning his attention to the brown-haired trainer standing in front of him. "Do not give up on mega evolution. You _are_ capable of it, you just need to believe that you are."

"Thanks, Gurkinn, but I don't believe so. Venusaur doesn't want to, and neither do I. Plus, today proved again that I'm capable of handling these kinds of Pokémon without resorting to mega evolution. I appreciate the help, though."

"Right, of course. Best of luck in your travels, both of you," Gurkinn said.

"Yeah, good luck!" Korrina said. "I hope to see you two in the finals at the Kalos League!"

"Heh, hopefully," Niko said, turning to Warren and Charlotte. "We're definitely going to do our best!"

"Absolutely," Charlotte said, looking up at Niko as she said so.


	22. On an azure bay

**Episode 22: On an azure bay**

"Does that fit, Skiddo?" Charlotte asked as she placed the saddle on Skiddo's back. It was a forest green color and had two pouches on each side, presumably for extra baggage. The Mount Pokémon bleated cheerfully as he wiggled around, noticing that the saddle wasn't moving. "Great, so we can start putting our things in here, too!"

"About time," Niko said as he placed a bag in one of the pouches. Charlotte glared at him before shaking her head and placing her sketchbook and some other things in Skiddo's other pouch. "What? We could've used Skiddo for this much earlier!"

"But we didn't," Charlotte replied with a shrug. "Anyways, we have to get going. It'll take a week or so to get to Coumarine City, right?"

"Yeah, something like that," Warren said, looking at the Kalos guidebook. The next closest gym to the trio, from the vantage point of Shalour City, was in Coumarine City, which was far to the northeast, relatively speaking.

Niko looked down into his bag as he placed it on Skiddo. At the top sat his Key Stone and the Venusaurite placed on top of his badge case. He sighed, thinking of the incident nearly a week prior that caused him and his closest Pokémon to give up—together—for the first time. As long as he had known Venusaur, the Seed Pokémon was no quitter. Not even when Niko wanted to give up on a few occasions, Venusaur kept him grounded and reminded him of why he trained Pokémon. And now he, of all people and Pokémon, was giving up.

"Niko?" Charlotte asked as her friend looked up with surprise. "We should get going?"

"Oh? Yes, sorry!" Niko said, closing his bag and securing it in the saddle's pouch.

* * *

The first couple days on the journey to Coumarine City—through route 12—were relatively eventless. Niko and Charlotte spent some time training their Pokémon; Niko continued to learn how to cook through intense trial and error; and Charlotte worked on a new sketch, this time of Braixen using pencils and, for the first time, markers.

At lunch on their third day out, the trio sat near the water overlooking what Charlotte described as "Azure Bay." Out on the sparkling water sat several islands, large and small, with Pokémon flying above and swimming below.

"Supposedly Pokémon from all around the world come to visit this place," Charlotte remarked as she finished a sandwich. "It's a beautiful place, too."

"Which makes sense. But it's almost too beautiful…for winter, at least."

"Late fall, technically," Charlotte said with a wink. "But, yes, I agree," she turned to Niko. "Do you swim?"

"Haven't in a while. Why?"

"Let's go!" Charlotte said, which Niko figured to be almost too unlike her. He felt like something was up, but didn't quite understand what. He eventually nodded, and within minutes they were inching close to the cold water.

"Oooh…Charlotte, this is really cold," Niko said, retracting his foot from the water.

Charlotte raised an eyebrow, but nodded in response. "Yeah, I know. But you'll be fine! C'mon," she said, holding out her hand. Niko hesitated, but took it, and the two waded into the water at the same time.

"You know, I never took you to be the more, err, daring type," Niko said as he was now knee-deep in the ice-cold bay water. He briefly felt something rub against his ankle, but tried to ignore it.

"I'm not daring, I j-just thought thi-this would be something we c-could t-try," Charlotte said, letting go of Niko's hand and wrapping herself in her arms.

"Cold?"

"Y-yes, this was probably n-not the b-best idea," Charlotte said, sloshing through the water and back onto the beach, where her Pokémon eyed her with amusement. Larvitar wanted to run in after her, but was advised against it by Braixen and Fletchinder, both of whom knew exactly what his response would have been.

"No, no it wasn't!" Niko said with a laugh. "But that's what I mean, Charlotte! You're more daring than I am."

"That is _not_ true, Niko," surprise etched itself across Charlotte's face. "You go into a lot of problems head-first, sometimes without thinking them through."

"I guess so. But not recently, right?"

Charlotte glared at Skiddo. "I caught Skiddo because of your bone-headed move. But I don't regret it, so I guess you're right. We're learning something from one another!"

"Great!" Warren said with a loud clap. "Now, dry off you two!"

Niko nodded as his friend tossed him a towel. As he was drying off, he noticed something off in the distance. In the water was a large, blue Pokémon with a gray shell covered in blunt knobs. It reminded him of a lapras, but he wasn't entirely sure if he was correct, as it had been a while since he had seen one. The creature passed by without much notice, and Niko ignored it after some time, opting to train instead.

"Alright guys!" Niko said, summoning his team together. "We've got a lot of work to do before our battle with the Coumarine City Gym Leader, so let's get going!" he then ran with his team up and down part of the beach before working on their individual moves. The only Pokémon to give up quickly, as usual, was Chespin.

Chespin, of all of Niko's Pokémon, confused him the most. The Spiny Nut Pokémon started out ignoring him before coming to terms with his role as a battling Pokémon, to then suddenly ignoring Niko altogether. However, he did seem to notice that he wasn't used in either battle with Korrina, and clearly took it to heart when Niko was praising Clauncher during that particular training session. Chespin incessantly poked the Water Gun Pokémon to the point where the latter turned and fired off a water pulse, landing just to Chespin's left. Chespin jumped from the sound the impact made and unleashed a vine whip that Clauncher quickly caught with his big claw before spinning Chespin through the air and slamming him into the ground.

"Guys…stop it," Niko said calmly as he looked at Clauncher, and then at Chespin, whose head was buried in the sand. Niko reached down and picked up the Spiny Nut Pokémon. "Stop annoying Clauncher. He delivered us a victory a couple days ago that few Pokémon could have, so be proud of your teammate, not jealous. If you want to be better than him, you need to put in the time to train, like he is," Niko said, pointing to Clauncher.

Chespin looked at Clauncher, and then at Niko, and nodded, albeit angrily. He then leapt out of Niko's arms and onto the ground, where he stormed off.

"Chespin…where are you going…?" Niko asked, but the Spiny Nut Pokémon didn't respond. "Great, just great," he turned around to his other Pokémon, all of whom were now staring at him. "Hopefully he comes back."

Chespin walked off of the beach and into the forest to the east of Azure Bay. While he walked, he thought about his actions, unleashing his vines to whip them around angrily. He almost hit a chatot sitting in the tree. The Music Note Pokémon eyed him suspiciously and cawed out in gargled human language, which scared Chespin initially before realizing it was a Pokémon, and found himself to be thoroughly confused.

Eventually Chespin reached a clearing and stopped for a moment, grabbing a berry to eat while he sat against a tree trunk and thought for a while, about Niko, Clauncher, and himself. He thought his crustacean teammate was a bit of a showoff, and scoffed at the thought of him. But when he thought of Niko, he found himself expressing puzzlement.

 _He's a good guy_ , Chespin thought to himself, _I like how he puts in time for us Pokémon. He knows how to battle and can help us get out of tough situations. I didn't think battling was fun…at all, but whenever I was with him, he tried to make it fun in a weird sort of way. Even when I didn't listen, I never felt out of place._

 _He probably hates me, anyways. I'm a coward, and can't battle if my life depended on it. That crab-thing is so much better at this than I am; I'll never be that good…ever._

Chespin looked up at the sky, seeing a fair amount of light-gray and white collections of fluff floating through the blue expanse of the atmosphere. He shook his head as he finished his berry and stood back up before walking back towards his trainer's camp, back hunched over slightly.

"There you are!" Niko shouted happily, as if nothing wrong had happened. "C'mon, we're about to leave actually."

Chespin looked up at Niko with an apologetic expression, but his trainer didn't seem to notice it.

"Hey, Niko," Charlotte asked as they packed up Skiddo, "did you know that Fletchinder can also learn flame charge? Braixen can help her learn it, if she's interested!"

"I like that idea, actually!" Niko exclaimed. He had seen how successful flame charge was for Charlotte and her Braixen during their battle with Korrina, so it couldn't possibly be wrong to attempt learning it for his Pokémon. "Alright Chespin, return," Niko said, turning back to the Spiny Nut Pokémon.

Just as the trio began walking away, Niko turned to the ocean again and saw the same blue creature, swimming closer to them now. He lightly nudged Charlotte and pointed to it.

"See that?" Niko asked.

"It's…a lapras, right?" Charlotte replied. "They're really beautiful, and strong if I recall correctly. Why?"

"No reason, just thought you'd appreciate seeing it," Niko said before continuing to walk down the beach. Minutes later, he heard a cry wail out, and turned around again to see the Lapras sitting on the edge of the water, which a bikini-clad woman standing next to it.

"Hey, you!" she said.

"Me?" Niko asked, thoroughly confused.

"You know, it isn't polite to stare. Did you want to battle or something?"

"Well, that wasn't my intention, no," Niko said with a shrug. "I'm from Kanto, and recognized the lapras from my travels there, that's all."

"Ah, Kanto eh? That's pretty far away, kid. What're you doing in Kalos?"

"Challenging gyms in hopes of qualifying for the Kalos League, along with my friend, Charlotte. Oh, and I'm Niko by the way."

"Mary," she—a red-haired woman—said with a wink, "and the gym challenge, eh? That means you're strong. Wanna battle?"

"Err…we were just about to leave for Coumarine City, but sure," Niko said calmly, placing his bag on the ground. He turned to Charlotte and Warren for confirmation, and they both nodded. "One-on-one?"

"Yep, and I'll be using my Lapras," Mary said, tilting her head towards the Transport Pokémon, who sat in the water. Niko took several paces inland before turning to face Mary and the Lapras next to her.

"Water type, right? I only have one Pokémon that can handle that. Hopefully he can keep up," Niko muttered to himself as he withdrew a pokéball. "Chespin, I choose you!" he shouted, throwing out a pokéball containing the Spiny Nut Pokémon. "Use vine whip!"

"Ice shard!" Mary commanded, thrusting her hand outwards. The lapras conjured small pieces of ice and threw them like floating daggers at Chespin, who was caught off guard by their speed and was thrown to the ground, cut in a few spots. "Now, water pulse!"

Lapras opened its mouth and created a pulsating orb of water that it shot at Chespin, who got hit just before standing up again.

"Chespin, can you do this?" Niko asked. Chespin, as usual, ignored him, but for a different reason this time. _He passes off my ditching him as nothing, and then wants to treat me with respect? No._ "Use rollout!" Niko commanded.

"Lapras, confuse ray!" Mary commanded. Lapras' eyes began to glow as it fired off a yellow orb from its mouth at Chespin, hitting the Spiny Nut Pokémon and causing him to wobble in place before turning to Niko and firing off vine whip on him.

"Chespin, stop!" Niko said, trying to grab the vine whips. He did, but not before taking a few hits from them. "You will stop this right now!"

As usual, Chespin didn't listen, but retracted the vines once he got hit in the back by Lapras' water pulse. Falling forward, but only onto his knees, Chespin quickly got back up and turned to the Transport Pokémon and broke into a rollout, again not on Niko's command. However, the rollout veered to the right, away from Mary and Lapras, and flung itself into the water as Lapras hit Chespin with another water pulse on Mary's command.

 _Can Chespin swim…?_ Niko thought. Realizing that, no, the grass type probably couldn't swim, Niko broke into a sprint through the sand towards the cold water and waded through until he found Chespin. Not seeing anything, Niko dove down into the progressively deepening water, eventually finding the Spiny Nut Pokémon. He grabbed Chespin and pulled him back to the surface, letting out a deep breath of relief and coughing a little. "Chespin! Are you alright?" Niko asked, treading water as he held Chespin.

Chespin looked up at Niko, blinking a few times before shivering vigorously. Taking the cue, Niko swam the both of them back to the beach—which wasn't too far—and kneeled down next to his Pokémon.

"Chespin, I'm sorry for letting you go off like that. It's just…I don't know what to do when you don't listen to me! I've had Pokémon not listen before, but they didn't fall back into it later. You are different like that.

"I guess I should have done a better job of listening to you and your needs, making sure you got a chance to shine in gym battles. I'll admit that I lost confidence in you, and I'm sorry for that," Niko said, looking away. "I do like you, Chespin. I see the potential in you, and in your ambition. I think…that you just have to believe in yourself, too. Maybe I should do the same."

 _So…he does care?_ Chespin thought to himself. He shook his head, confusing Niko, and slowly stood back up. _He's right, though—I have to work for what I want, too. That's what he's done, and if I want to be strong like him, or like the crab, then I have to do the same!_

Chespin then took a couple steps towards Lapras and looked up glaringly. He then turned to Niko, and nodded.

"You want to continue?" Niko asked, and Chespin nodded, forcing the former to smile. "Alright then, let's do this buddy. Chespin, vine whip!"

Chespin cried out, unleashing two vines from his neck at Lapras, who blocked them with ice shard before firing off a water pulse.

"Dodge it, and use rollout!" Niko said. Chespin obeyed, rolling to the side before breaking into a roll across the sand and towards the Transport Pokémon. "Don't give up, Chespin! Just keep rolling!"

"Water pulse!" Mary commanded. Lapras fired off pulse after pulse at Chespin, who continued to make his way across the sand, eventually hitting Lapras square in the jaw and rolling backwards through the air before landing back on the ground, albeit a little dizzily.

Chespin began to breathe heavily before he started to glow a bright white color. Much to Niko's surprise, he started to grow in size, both vertically and horizontally. The new Pokémon was covered in an armor-like shell similar to that of a chestnut. The armor was green in color with two large spines jutting out like ears. The spines each had red-pointed tips, and there were banded segments on the back of its shell. The lower half of the body was brown, and it had a three-pointed patch of fur decorating the front. His arms—now a little longer—were half-green, half-brown, with three white, clawed digits on each hand. His face was exposed and unarmored, and light brown in color. Between his eyes was a three-pointed patch of brown fur extending out like hair.

" _Quilladin, the Spiny Armor Pokémon. Grass type. They strengthen their lower bodies by running into one another. They ae very kind and won't start fights_."

"That's good to know," Niko muttered to himself. "Quilladin, ready to finish this?"

Quilladin turned to Niko and nodded. He felt more confident, more powerful. Turning back to Lapras, he felt the spines on his head grow hot before green streams with pointed ends fired off at the Transport Pokémon.

"A new move?" Niko asked, remembering it from somewhere. "Oh! That's pin missile! Great job, Quilladin!"

Charlotte and Warren cheered, as did Skiddo, while Quilladin leaned before and broke into a roll towards Lapras, dodging a water pulse or two before slamming once more into his opponent's jaw and, right after breaking from the rollout, firing off another pin missile ad Lapras' underbelly in the water, sprayed water everywhere and launching Lapras backwards into the water in defeat.

"L-lapras!" Mary shouted, running towards her Pokémon in shock. "Well, I guess we need to train more, don't we?" she said while treading water next to Lapras, who was regaining its composure. "Great battle, Niko. Glad we could be a part of your Pokémon's own development, too."

"So am I. Thanks for the battle, Mary," Niko said, kneeling down next to Quilladin. "And I promise you that we'll get stronger every day. You and me, alright?"

Quilladin nodded happily, feeling better about himself and his relationship with his trainer.

"So, off to Coumarine City?" Warren asked.

"Off to Coumarine City. Nice to meet you, Mary. Hopefully we get to have a rematch one day," Niko said as he stood up, waving to the red-haired swimmer and her lapras.

"You, too, Niko," Mary said with a wink, boarding lapras and swimming off as the sun was beginning to set on the Kalos region.


	23. The roots of a bond

**Episode 23: The roots of a bond**

"Coumarine City looks amazing," Warren said as they looked down at the port city from atop a hill.

The trio had made it to Coumarine City after roughly a week-long journey from Shalour City. The "city where bay and butte are bound," as it was called, was not only a port city, but also home to a thriving natural life. Off in the distance, the three trainers could see two massive trees and a ranch nearby. A long monorail track looked like it connected the two seemingly different parts of the city.

As the trio made their way towards the Pokémon Center on the port side of the city, they noticed large crowds of people making their way in and out of shops along the street, as if they were in some sort of mall.

"What's going on…?" Charlotte asked as they passed by a Gogoat with an elderly man riding it.

"Ah! Newcomers, I take it?" the old man said from atop the Mount Pokémon. He wore a forest green cap with an orange scarf around his neck. On his person were orange-colored overalls that wrapped around a green buttoned-shirt. He also wore gardener's gloves and had a large pair of shears in a pocket on the side of his pants.

"Yeah, we just got here," Niko replied, "So what's going on today?"

"Every year the people of Coumarine City hold a festival to celebrate the bond between people and Pokémon. The trainers gather under the Pledging Tree," the old man pointed to one of the massive tree off in the distance, "and give their Pokémon special presents at sunset.

"The tradition began when a young man, centuries ago, travelled with his Pokémon far and wide before coming to a stop here, where Coumarine City would ultimately sit, and built a house. As a way of thanking his Pokémon, he presented his Pokémon—a Gogoat—with the seedling that would one day become the Pledging Tree."

"Wow! That's really awesome!" Warren said, turning to his friends. "I think we should participate! Our Pokémon really do deserve gifts from us, right?"

"I agree," Niko said, turning back to the old man, "are tourists allowed to participate?"

"Of course, son. And, for future reference, please call me Ramos," he said, waving to the trio as he rode away on his Gogoat.

"Hmm…" Niko thought as the three continued towards the Pokémon Center, "It's tonight, so we have several hours before we have to get them something, right?"

"Indeed," Charlotte said, checking her watch before petting Skiddo, who bleated happily, "I think we should leave our Pokémon with Nurse Joy while we go out and look! I already have a couple of ideas of what we could get them."

"I have no idea. I'm terrible at getting gifts for anyone," Niko said nervously.

"Oh, I'm sure you'll be fine!" Warren said with assurance.

"He's right. Just get them something from the heart," Charlotte said with a smile.

Niko nodded. "Alright, let's do that, then."

At the Pokémon Center, Niko summoned his full team of Pokémon to explain to them what they were doing that day, as did Charlotte and Warren.

"Actually, Niko," Charlotte said, "I might stay here for a bit and work on something. How about you and Warren start without me, and we can all meet back here at sunset?"

Niko raised an eyebrow, but nodded. "Works for me. Warren?"

"Sure! We haven't spent quality time together for a while, so it works!" he said, flinging an arm around Niko and grinning.

* * *

"So, where first?" Warren asked as they left the Pokémon Center.

"So you have to get stuff for Poliwhirl, Leavanny, and Tranquil…" Niko began, looking at a directory of shops in Coumarine City. "And I have Quilladin, Fletchinder, Swirlix, Amaura, and Clauncher."

"Sounds like you got your work cut out for you, buddy," Warren said. "I have an idea about Poliwhirl and Leavanny, but not sure yet on Tranquil," he said as he pointed to a clothing shop. "Let's check inside here!"

"Sure…" Niko said plainly as he followed his friend inside. Inside, they saw a wide array of different hats, shirt, pants, jackets, scarves, and glasses. Warren walked off in search of something for his Pokémon while Niko examined the glasses. He saw a pair of black-rimmed glasses that he thought Quilladin might appreciate. He picked them up, but continued looking. Nearly half an hour later, he saw Warren walk up to the cashier with two scarves, one was white, and the other was bright green. "What'd you get?" Niko asked.

"A silk scarf for Tranquil, and this green silk scarf for Leavanny," Warren said, showing off the two scarves. "They help to power up moves. And I think Leavanny would appreciate owning something made of silk," he looked at Niko, "and what'd you get?"

"Oh, I'm thinking of getting these glasses for one of my Pokémon, and this black belt for another," Niko said, looking at the two items in his hands.

"Quilladin might like the belt, and the glasses…maybe Clauncher or Amaura?" Warren asked.

"Hmm…you're right," Niko said, taking a second look at the items. He then turned to the scarf section and saw one of a very nice sky blue. "One second…"

The next shop they stopped by was a candy shop. Niko knew Swirlix would want something sweet as a gift, even if it wasn't permanent. So he looked around the candy shop, searching for a particular flavor that his Cotton Candy Pokémon might like.

"How may I help you?" a short, cute woman with pink and blue hair asked Niko.

"Oh, hi! I'm looking for a candy for one of my Pokémon. She loves candy."

"Is this for the Pledging Ceremony?" Niko nodded. "And...is your Pokémon a swirlix, by any chance?"

"How'd you guess?" Niko asked.

The woman giggled. "Because it's well known around here that swirlix—and their evolution slurpuff—enjoy sweets. Especially in the candy world, they're well known."

"Slurpuff…swirlix evolves?" Niko asked.

"Yes, when it's given something called a Whipped Dream," the woman said, motioning Niko over to a glass cabinet with a small, pink candy covered in whipped and whirled cream around it. "Would you like one?"

"Oh, man…I hadn't thought about evolving my Swirlix yet," Niko said, scratching his head. "How long do they last?"

"About a day before they go bad, actually," she asked, "I understand the indecision—evolution is something a Pokémon should decide, too."

"Yeah. Could I get one of those vanillite ice cream cones then?" Niko asked. "And apologies for my indecisiveness."

"Oh, pfft. We get trainers coming in here like that all the time. No need to apologize!" she said, making a motion with her hand that suggested she was passing the comment off. Niko nodded, purchased the ice cream cone, and placed it in a securely chilled storage that the cashier provided for him to keep it cool for the rest of the day.

As he exited the shop, he saw Warren leaving a nearby shop with a small crown in his hands. "They call it King's Rock, and that Poliwhirl love it!" Warren exclaimed.

"Poliwhirl evolve with it," Niko said, thinking of the Pokémon politoed, and briefly remembering an encounter he had with one in Johto, under the ownership of his friend Jacob.

"Oh! Well, maybe another time, then. Damn…" Warren said as he turned around and went back into the shop, clearly re-thinking his decision. With a laugh, Niko spun on his heels and continued shopping, now looking for something for Fletchinder.

The Ember Pokémon was hard to shop for. _What do birds even like? Food? Worms?_ Niko thought as he walked down the streets, staring up at the variety of signs and hoping for a clue of some sort. Moments later, he felt Warren's hand on his shoulder, and he spun around. "Hey! I'm looking for something for Fletchinder. Wanna help me?"

"Sure thing. I finally found something for Poliwhirl that I think he'll appreciate. But I kinda need his participation for it, so when you're done I'll take him and the gang off to a shop. Whaddya thinking for the bird?"

"No idea, actually. I was thinking maybe a scarf, but we've kinda overdone that by now, right?" Niko said.

"Alright then, let's think—" Warren said, putting his hand under his chin. "Your Fletchinder is strong, likes to fight, and likes berries. Maybe you could get it something to eat?"

"Maybe. Oh! I could get her a cake!" Niko said. "Think she would appreciate that?"

"I'm sure she would, actually. Fletchinder never seemed like the type of Pokémon that liked material things. She's more ambitious about fighting," Warren observed. Niko agreed, and the two found a bakery nearby that, fortunately, specialized in berry cupcakes. Niko bought a half-dozen Rawst Berry cupcakes. While he waited for them to be made, Warren sat him down at a two-seated table near the entrance and leaned forward.

"What's up, Warren?"

"You should get something for Charlotte," Warren asked.

"Why? This is a celebration for Pokémon."

"I know, but…well, it's quite clear that, y'know…" Warren said, stammering a little, "she…err…wants you to…well,"

"Oh, that she likes me?" Niko guessed.

"Yes. She likes you. Haven't you noticed?"

"Not really, but you made it clear that she does," Niko said with a smirk.

"You haven't noticed at all?" Warren asked, leaning back and raising his hands into the air. "She holds your hand sometimes, blushes a little when she talks about you, gives you compliments on a daily basis?"

"Yeah, but I do all of those things for her, too," Niko said with a shrug.

"So _you_ like her, too!?" Warren asked. Niko's cheeks went red for a moment, and he looked away.

 _Do I? I mean, maybe I do. But I shouldn't get into a relationship. The last one I was in was…it didn't end well. And what if that one fails, too? Charlotte is a great friend of mine,, why would I want to risk my friendship with her on a relationship?_

Niko relayed all of these thoughts to his friend and former roommate, who nodded and clearly expressed deep thought.

"Do she ever tell you why she wanted to qualify for the Kalos League?" Warren asked. When Niko shook his head with bemusement, Warren continued, "she didn't? Hmm…right! She told me before we met you at the airport on our way to Kalos. She wanted to make it sort of a surprise for you, too, actually.

"During our adventures in Unova, Charlotte felt sort of empty, and wanted to do something more fulfilling. She didn't like the contests so much, but loved Brittany's performance in Humilau City. She wanted to battle, and after the World Tournament's Junior Cup, when she didn't place very well, she decided to train and get better. She told me, specifically, that she wanted to be like you."

To this Niko's eyes widened. "Me? Why me?"

"She saw your talent when it came to training and battling. You were an inspiration to her. She saw you come up from nothing—which, when we both met you, you weren't technically a trainer anymore—and nearly win the Vertress Conference. She wanted to give it a try, and to do it alongside you. That's why."

Warren sat back for a moment and waited for Niko to respond. He didn't.

"She really likes you, Niko. It's incredibly easy to tell."

"I didn't know any of that. Thanks, Warren. I'll give it more thought," Niko said just as the cupcakes were ready. "I'm going to go looking for something else, want to meet at the Pokémon Center?"

"Of course. See ya then, Niko," Warren said as the two young men parted ways.

* * *

At sunset, lights lit up all over Coumarine City, bathing the city in lights of a dozen different colors. Niko and his friends looked in awe as they walked through the streets towards the Pledging Tree at the top of a hill overlooking the port side of the city.

"Got everything?" Niko asked Charlotte as he carried his own gifts.

"Yep!" she said with a smile as she pointed to Skiddo's saddle, which was carrying her gifts to her full team of Pokémon. When they reached the base of the tree, they put down their gifts and turned to see Ramos and his Gogoat standing there near a large switch handle. He noticed them, smiled, and motioned them back into the crowd, where they joined the rest of the city folk and their Pokémon.

Niko, Warren, and Charlotte then sent out their team of Pokémon—Quilladin, Fletchinder, Swirlix, Amaura, Clauncher, Poliwhirl, Leavanny, Tranquil, Smeargle, Deerling, Frillish, Braixen, and Larvitar.

They all turned to see Ramos pull the large switch, which lit up the tree in a bright green glow. Lights even streamed down from the branches to give it a magical flair.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Charlotte asked. "Time to get presents, guys!" she shouted, walking over to the base of the tree and grabbing her gifts again. Niko, Warren, and everyone else did the same.

Niko went first. "Hey you five. I, err, I'm not good at getting gifts, but I thought you'd like these. Quilladin, here's a black belt. Fletchinder, I got your some Rawst Berry cupcakes. Swirlix, a vanillite ice cream. Amaura, I got you a scarf. And Clauncher…these are call Wise Glasses."

Each of Niko's Pokémon looked at their gifts and smiled and cried out lightly in awe. Swirlix immediately ate the ice cream cone, Quilladin, Clauncher, and Amaura put on their new articles of clothing, and Fletchinder began eating her cupcakes, offering to share with her teammates. Amaura in particular needed help putting on her scarf, and with Niko's help she did, but not without shedding a tear or two in the process.

Warren went next. "Poliwhirl, I got you this photo of you and me. Like me, you value friendship and family, so here—because you _are_ my family. Leavanny, Tranquil, I got each of you scarves that are designed to help increase the power of your moves. Leavanny, yours is specifically made of silk since I know how much you like that."

Warren's Pokémon all took their gifts with equal parts shock and happiness. Poliwhirl began crying a little from seeing the picture.

Charlotte was last. "Alright you six, here—Smeargle, you got a new painting brush and a book specifically made for Pokémon who want to be artists. Deerling, a color-changing bow that is affected by mood. Frillish, I got you a water cake in the shape of a Jellicent. Braixen, here's a polishing set for your twig. Skiddo, I got you extra pouches for your saddle. And, Larvitar…" she bent down and held out a red scarf. "This is for you, when you become a Tyranitar and can mega evolve. See, it has the Tyranitarite on it."

Larvitar, not sure how to respond, took it in his stubby arms and, tears welling up, looked up at Charlotte and hugged her.

"That brings us to my next gift," Niko said, interrupting Charlotte and Larvitar and standing in front of the former. "Charlotte, I have something for you."

"Oh? Well, so do I, actually," she said, pulling something out of Skiddo's new extra pouch.

"Uhh...you first," they said simultaneously."

"Fine, I'll go," Niko said, holding out a small box. "For you."

Charlotte took it and opened it up to reveal a white necklace with a half-moon curve at the bottom, presumably to fit something inside of it. "Niko…what's this for?"

"Your Key Stone," Niko said simply.

"Oh…hah! Hahahahaha!" Charlotte shouted. "You're kidding!"

"I'm…I'm not, actually," Niko said, looking slightly offended and confused.

"No, Niko…" Charlotte said, calming down, "I got you the same thing!" she said, handing him a box. In it was a small pendant with a green-gold chain to go around the neck. On it was, in fact, Niko's Key Stone. "Never leave your stuff with me again."

"Oh…wow, Charlotte. This is amazing." Niko said, taking the pendant and putting it on as Charlotte put on her necklace. "I'm not really sure what else to say."

"Then don't say anything," she said. "Thanks for the gift, I really appreciate it."

"Ditto. Hopefully you can put yours to use one day."

"I hope the same for you," Charlotte said, leaning in to hug her friend.

* * *

"Niko? What's up?"

"Hi, Mom. I want to send something to you. When you get it, can you give it to Venusaur for me?" Niko asked, holding up a small box, roughly the same size as the one he got for Charlotte.

"Of course I can. But…what for?"

"I'm currently in Coumarine City with my friends, and we just had a celebration in the city where we gave gifts to our Pokémon. And I found something that—I hope—Venusaur would like. Can you give it to him when it arrives?"

"Yes, Niko. I can do that. You seem…different. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Mom. Just have a lot on my mind. We can talk about it some other time. Love you," Niko said as he hung up the video phone call and turned to Warren and Charlotte, who were sitting in a nearby booth.

"Ready for the gym battle?" Niko asked as he sat down with Charlotte.

"I hope so. No, I think so," Charlotte said before drinking her tea. Niko sat back and smiled. Starting that day, for whatever reason, he saw Charlotte in a different light.


	24. Seeing the forest from the trees!

**Episode 24: Seeing the forest from the trees!**

The day after the Pledging Ceremony, Niko and Charlotte set off towards the Coumarine City Gym for their fourth Kalos gym match. Going into it, neither had much of a clue as to what type of Pokémon the gym leader would use, as Charlotte purposefully ignored looking it up in her Kalos guidebook.

It was in the eastern part of town, away from the portside that the trio had spent most of their time in. They took the monorail around the city. Niko tried to look anywhere but forward, but felt slightly nauseous when he did so. So, during the trip, he thought about several things that were on his mind.

For starters, he thought about his gym match. Despite the typing of the Gym Leader, he was going to use Quilladin. The Spiny Armor Pokémon deserved to battle, regardless of who it was against. Besides that, he tried to figure out who else would be suitable enough. _Amaura hasn't participated in a battle yet, so maybe her?_ He thought to himself.

Otherwise, most of his thoughts were occupied by the revelations yesterday regarding Charlotte. Knowing what Warren told him, every small moment since they arrived in Kalos made sense to Niko now. How long had Charlotte had feelings for him? _Why_ did she have feelings for him? Niko didn't feel like he did much else, other than be a friend to her and care about her like any friend would. It didn't seem to make much sense to him, but he was nevertheless curious.

Later the previous evening, Niko approached Warren once more about what he had said. "She gave me my Key Stone…as a pendant," Niko said, showing it to Warren.

"And you gave her a necklace. So?" Warren said, dismissively but nevertheless friendly.

"I'm so confused."

"About what? She likes you, and she is hiding it less and less," Warren said, sitting down on his bed across from Niko's.

"Wha should I do about it?"

"I don't know."

"What did you do when you and Sydney got together?"

"Well, we just sort of hung out a lot. It was different for us, since we weren't constantly together. We had classes, and jobs, and homework to do. But we found time to go to movies, or the park, or play games with one another. So…I guess with you and Charlotte, maybe take her somewhere?"

"Like a date…?"

"Sure, like a date, if that's what you want to call it."

"But you're implying that I should!"

"I'm not implying anything at all," Warren said with a smirk. "Okay, here's a suggestion—in the next city we go to, wherever that is, take her out to dinner or something, and just enjoy the evening. You don't have to, you know, confess your love or anything. Just be yourself."

"I don't love her, though."

"I know you don't. You're confused as hell," Warren said with a smirk. "But whaddya say? Are you up for that?"

"Sure, I guess so," Niko said. "I'll think more about it, though."

Niko recalled the memory just as they made their stop in the eastern part of the city. There, Charlotte seemed to be on autopilot, as she had looked up the location of the gym before the three of them had left. "So…it should be somewhere…around here," she said, looking and pointing around. "Oh…is _that_ it?" she said, looking at the Pledging Tree.

"That's it…" Niko said, raising an eyebrow. "So, this gym probably uses grass types…or flying types."

"Either way, we can do it," Charlotte said with an ambitious expression.

"Yep, we got this."

They made their way around what looked like a ranch overlooking the port side of Coumarine City, and towards the base of the tree, where several platforms jutting out of the trunk in a stepwise fashion awaited them. Niko stood directly in front of the first step and looked up, only to see more vines and foliage above.

He then took his first step upwards, with Charlotte and Warren following closely behind. Within a few minutes, they made their way to the top, where a wooden door awaited them. Opening it up, they saw a massive battlefield in the center, with a garden to the left of the field and a library to the right. In the latter stood a short, gray-haired man with a forest green cap on, reading the first page of a book.

"Ramos…?" Niko asked, referencing the old man from the previous day who had told them about the Pledging Ceremony. Ramos turned and looked at them with surprise.

"Oh! It's you three again! Welcome to the Coumarine City Gym! Are all three of you challengers?"

"Two of us, actually—Charlotte and I," Niko said, motioning to his friend beside him. "And I'd like to go first."

"Ah, hmm…alright then. I'll grant you a gym battle. But first, would you like some tea?"

"Sure…?" Niko asked, unsure of how to respond. Charlotte and Warren both nodded affirmatively, giving Niko the green light to accept the invitation.

"Great! Follow me, then," Ramos said, guiding them to the garden where he sat down with a teapot in one hand and a plate of teacups in another. After pouring the tea into four cups, he sat down and looked at each of them. "So…tell me about yourselves."

The trio each went down the line, telling Ramos about themselves—where they were from, why they were in Kalos and, for Niko and Charlotte in particular, about their battling history. Ramos was particularly interested in Niko's.

"Runner-up in the Vertress Conference? Well done. I expect a lot from our battle, then," Ramos said, sitting back in his chair. "It seems you three have a lot going for you. That is good, especially at your age."

"When did you become a trainer, Ramos?" Niko wondered.

Ah, younger than you three. Far younger. My Gogoat's parent, when they were a skiddo, was my first Pokémon. I inherited the gym, as do a fair amount of gym leaders, from my parents—my mother specifically. She was, without a doubt, the light of my life. Mothers are incredibly important to one's development and journey in life, obviously. It's important to remember that, and never take it for granted."

"Oh, I know it," Niko said, reflecting on his own relationship with his mother.

"Anyway! Let's get started, shall we?" Ramos said, standing up. "Niko, you said you wanted to go first?"

"Yes, that'd be ideal," he turned to Charlotte, "since my friend went first last time."

Ramos nodded approvingly. "Your friends can wait up in the branches. This will be a three-on-three Pokémon battle. Are you ready?"

"Yes," Niko said confidently. He noticed Ramos smirk briefly before turning to his end of the battlefield and withdrawing a pokéball. Niko did the same, and as soon as the referee declared the battle ready, they both summoned their first choice.

"Jumpluff, I choose you!" Ramos shouted, summoning a familiar-looking Pokémon to Niko.

" _Jumpluff, the Cottonweed Pokémon. Grass and flying type. Blown by season winds, it circles the globe, scattering cotton spores as it goes,_ " Charlotte's pokédex read.

"Amaura, let's go!" Niko shouted as well, summoning the Tundra Pokémon. "Use hail!"

"Jumpluff, leech seed!" Ramos commanded. The Cottonweed Pokémon summoned small seedlings from its cotton ball arms at Amaura, who clumsily attempted to dodge the attack before getting engulfed by the vines erupting out of the ground to sap her energy. "Now, acrobatics!"

"Icy wind!" Niko shouted, and Amaura summoned a chilling gust of air from her body, freezing the leech seed and narrowly missing Jumpluff, who slammed into the Tundra Pokémon with its acrobatic abilities. "Thunder wave!"

"AU-RAAA!" Amaura cried out, summoning electric sparks from the small sails on her head and hitting Jumpluff with them. The grass type Pokémon fell backwards onto the ground before laying completely still, electric sparks crackling around it.

"Use icy wind!" Niko shouted as the hail fell around him and Ramos. Amaura then conjured a second blast of wind that hit Jumpluff and knocked it backwards towards Ramos, still paralyzed.

"Grass knot!" Ramos shouted. Jumpluff's eyes began to glow green as green-glowing vines shot out of the ground towards Amaura and attempted to tie themselves to the Tundra Pokémon.

"Icy wind!" Niko commanded. Amaura nodded, releasing a third gust of cold air around her, freezing the vines and suppressing them. "Now, use rock throw!"

"Jumpluff, leech seed!" Ramos called out. Jumpluff, still struggling to move, tried to throw out a leech seed, but it was met with a rock throw that collided with the seed, broke it, and fell on top of Jumpluff.

"Jumpluff is unable to battle, Amaura is the winner!" the referee declared.

"Return, Jumpluff. Hmm…alright, then. I see how you battle, Niko. Weepinbell, I choose you!" Ramos shouted, summoning a yellow bell-shaped Pokémon with green leaves for arms.

" _Weepinbell, the Flycatcher Pokémon. Grass and poison type. The leafy parts act as cutters for slashing foes. It spits a fluid that dissolves everything,_ " Charlotte's pokédex read.

"Razor leaf!" Ramos commanded, thrusting his gardening scissors forward and snapping them viciously.

"Amaura, icy wind!" Niko shouted, hoping to freeze the leaves before they hit. They didn't in time, and Weepinbell's unexpectedly fast attack struck Amaura, forcing her to slide backwards and cringe a little from the pain of the attack. "It's okay, we can keep going. Use icy wind again!"

"Weepinbell, poisonpowder!" Ramos called out. The Flycatcher Pokémon spit out small purple spores from its large, pink mouth, bathing the field in them. Amaura, in retaliation, fired off another gust of wind that blew the poisonpowder away. "Hmm…razor leaf again!"

"Amaura, thunder wave!" Niko commanded. The Tundra Pokémon's sails lit up with electricity and fired off sparks at Weepinbell, who blocked them with razor leaf before finally moving forward and using razor leaf up close, slamming Amaura with them. Once the onslaught finished, Amaura collapsed onto her side in defeat.

"Amaura is unable to battle, Weepinbell is the winner!" the referee declared. "Challenger Niko will send out his second Pokémon."

"Fletchinder, I choose you!" Niko shouted. "Use ember!"

"Weepinbell, acid!" Ramos shouted out. Weepinbell fired off purple sludge-like material from its mouth, up into the air. It collided with the fireballs and exploded on contact, hot toxic liquid raining from the sky. "Poisonpowder!"

"Ember!" Niko commanded again, realizing it might not be a smart idea to get too close to Weepinbell. Fletchinder nodded, firing off another round of embers while keeping her distance from the Flycatcher Pokémon. Once more, the match drew to a stalemate when the poisonpowder was burned up by embers that barely made it halfway to their destination. _I can't get close, but Ramos blocks every attempt I have at trying to hit his Pokémon…_ Niko thought. He had been in similar situation before with gym leaders—constant stalemates. _How did I get through them before? I have two options here—either go in head-first or stay back and try to wear down Weepinbell_.

"I see you're thinking this through, Niko. Well done," Ramos said as he pet his Weepinbell. "And you're doing quite well yourself, young one."

"Fletchinder, use quick attack!" Niko shouted, finally coming to a decision. He hoped he wouldn't regret this choice. But if he wanted to battle to continue, he wouldn't have any real "other" option. The Ember Pokémon dove down towards Weepinbell and slammed into the Flycatcher Pokémon, dragging it upwards through the air. "Now, ember!"

"Poisonpowder!" Ramos commanded. Just then, both Pokémon lit up on fire, and poison emerged from both of them as they scaled the trees surrounding them, eventually making it to the top of the gym. Niko shielded his eyes from the sun as he looked up, eagerly waiting to see what would happen.

He didn't have to wait long. Moments later, Fletchinder and Weepinbell both came crashed down to the ground. Upon hitting the ground, they struggled to get back up. Moments later, the referee walked up to them and held an arm out in both directions.

"Weepinbell and Fletchinder are both unable to battle! Challenger Niko and Leader Ramos will send out their final Pokémon!"

"Wow…Fletchinder _tied_ with a grass type?" Warren asked, shaking his head as if unsure of what he was seeing, "I can't imagine that happening."

"Somehow, it did. That Weepinbell is strong," Charlotte thought to herself as she looked forward to her own battle with Ramos.

"Quilladin, I choose you!" Niko shouted. "If fire doesn't work, then let's fight grass type with grass type."

"Hmm. You have an odd battling style, Niko. Sometimes you convince me that you are predictable and surprising, but other times you're simply unpredictable. Either way, I'm excited to see how this match turns out. Gogoat!" Ramos shouted, tossing a pokéball high into the air. When it landed, a massive green goat appeared on the field. "Use bulldoze!"

"Quilladin, rollout!" Niko shouted. The Spiny Armor Pokémon jumped into a ball and rolled across the field. "Use the explosion from bulldoze to your advantage and leap into the air!" Niko shouted. Quilladin responded, trying to feeling the earth quake beneath him. Once he felt the attack coming, while he was rolling, he re-directed himself upwards as the attack hit, rocketing him into the air like a spring. "Now, pin missile!"

"Razor leaf!" Ramos shouted, snapping his gardening scissors again. Gogoat responded by firing off a torrent of sharp leaves while Quilladin—still in the air—fired off bright green missiles from the red-hot spines on his head. The attack was successful, but Gogoat hardly seemed fazed by it, much to Niko's disappointment. "Horn leech!"

"Quilladin, respond again with pin missile!" Niko had no idea what horn leech was, but he assumed it would be a close-combat move, and preferred to keep his distance. The Spiny Armor Pokémon responded with another round of bright green missiles that halted Gogoat's onslaught, forcing it to use bulldoze instead. "Rollout again!"

Niko saw Ramos smirk, as if he knew something the former didn't. When Gogoat's bulldoze reached its climax, Gogoat charged down the field towards Quilladin and, just as the Spiny Armor Pokémon was above it, Gogoat fired off a razor leaf directly upwards, hitting Quilladin and forcing it to fall to the ground.

"Horn leech!" Ramos called out. Gogoat's horns began to illuminate bright green as it tackled Quilladin, sapping his energy and knocking him to the ground. Quilladin slowly, but surely, struggled to get back up, weakened by the draining attack.

"Quilladin, keep fighting," Niko said calmly. "You want to participate in a gym battle, right? You want to fight, and get stronger, right? This is how you do it. By breaking through the wall: overcoming the massive obstacle in front of you. I believe in you."

Quilladin closed his eyes and took a deep breath before opening them and seeing Gogoat in a clearer way than before.

"Ready?" Niko asked.

"QUIL!" Quilladin shouted.

"Then let's go! Use rollout!"

"Take down!" Ramos commanded. The Mount Pokémon charged down the battlefield, ruined by several bulldoze-attempts. Both Pokémon collided in the middle of the field, resulting in Quilladin pressing his arms up against Gogoat's bushy, leaf-covered neck. "Razor leaf!"

"Pin missile!" Niko commanded. Quilladin summoned all of his energy and fired off bright green missiles at close range, the spines on his head burning up with energy. Meanwhile, Gogoat fired off razor leaves at close range, cutting at Quilladin's green armor. Both Pokémon were then repelled backwards: Gogoat skidded to a stop in front of Ramos, and Quilladin rolled to a stop in front of Niko. Both stared each other down for a moment before the former collapsed on its side.

"Gogoat is unable to battle, Quilladin is the winner! And the victory goes to Niko from Pallet Town!" the referee declared.

Quilladin, too exhausted to celebrate, also collapsed onto the ground, only for Niko to catch him as he did so.

"I'm very proud of you, Quilladin. I'm glad you're my Pokémon."

Quilladin smiled before fainting as well.

* * *

Healing Ramos' Pokémon took longer than usual, primarily because the Coumarine City Leader used more natural methods to do so, whereas most other gym leaders would heal them up on a machine akin to those Nurse Joy uses. During that time, Ramos continued to ask questions about Niko's, Charlotte's, and Warren's pasts, but nothing overtly personal or eventful. Just basic questions for him to better understand his opponents.

After nearly half an hour, it was time for Charlotte's battle. Like with Niko's, she stood on one end with a pokéball sitting in her palm. Ramos was on the other, his gardening scissors in one hand and planted in the ground, and a pokéball in the other. The referee, like usual, explained the rules of the match, and the battle was on.

"Jumpluff, I choose you!"

"Deerling, let's go!" Charlotte shouted, summoning the Season Pokémon. "Use energy ball!"

"Acrobatics, to dodge, Jumpluff!" Ramos commanded. The Cottonweed Pokémon shifted through the air gracefully before slamming into Deerling, who responded with a faint attack that struck at his opponent powerfully, launching Jumpluff across the field and slamming into the ground. "Acrobatics again!"

"Deerling, use energy ball!" Charlotte called out. The Season Pokémon, now a brown color due to it being winter, conjured a powerful green ball of energy and fired it upwards at Jumpluff, who skillfully dodged it and slammed once more into Deerling, knocking him backwards. "Faint attack!"

"Grass knot!" Ramos commanded. Jumpluff's eyes began to glow green as bright green vines shot up from under the ground, grabbing at Deerling just as he collided with the Cottonweed Pokémon, and knocking them both to the ground. "Now, acrobatics!"

Jumpluff leapt back into the air and quickly, but gracefully, moved around above Deerling before launching itself downwards and slamming into the Season Pokémon, knocking him backwards.

"Deerling!" Charlotte shouted as the grass type struggled to get back up. "You can do it! I believe you can!"

Deerling nodded, slowly getting back up and staring down his opponent. Smiling, Charlotte commanded Deerling to use faint attack.

"Acrobatics!" Ramos shouted.

"Wait for it…" Charlotte said calmly, but sternly. Deerling waited until Jumpluff was merely feet away. "Now!"

Deerling quickly disappeared as Jumpluff's attack missed. Ramos stood completely still, presumably understanding where the match was going. Deerling then reappeared behind Jumpluff, slamming into the Cottonweed Pokémon unexpectedly.

"Energy ball!" Charlotte shouted. Deerling quickly fired off a weak, albeit successful attack, on Jumpluff from behind, launching the Pokémon towards Charlotte. It skidded to a stop in defeat.

"Jumpluff is unable to battle, Deerling is the winner!" the referee declared. "Leader Ramos will send out his second Pokémon!"

"Jumpluff, return," Ramos said. "You did well. Weepinbell, I choose you!"

"Deerling, return," Charlotte said, knowing that Deerling would be at an immediate disadvantage against a poison type like Weepinbell. "Braixen, I choose you!"

"Hmm. Weepinbell, use poisonpowder!" Ramos commanded.

"Braixen, flame charge!" Charlotte shouted. The Fox Pokémon lit aflame and shot towards her opponent, the flames intensifying as she did so. Weepinbell leapt out of the way, somehow, and sprayed acid back towards its opponent as the flames went out, dousing Braixen in toxic liquid. "Rub it off!"

"Weepinbell, use razor leaf!" Ramos commanded, and the Flycatcher Pokémon unleashed a heavy torrent of leaves at its opponent, knocking the poisoned Braixen backwards and onto her tail. "Follow up with slam!"

"Braixen, ember!" Charlotte called out. The Fox Pokémon opened her mouth and fired off at Weepinbell, who skillfully moved out of the way and grabbed Braixen's arm with its leaf-like arm, picking up the fire type and spinning around vertically to slam Braixen onto the ground. "Get up and use flame charge!"

"Weepinbell, acid!" Ramos commanded, but this time, for the first time, his eyebrows raised. Braixen rocketed forward at the Flycatcher Pokémon, charging into it and dragging it across the field before grabbing its leaf-arm and throwing it around and high into the air.

"Flame charge!" Charlotte shouted. Braixen then leapt into the air, her body once more on fire and, with her twig, slammed Weepinbell out of the air and into the ground, as if she were hitting a baseball with a bat.

"Weepinbell is unable to battle, Braixen is the winner!" the referee declared. "Leader Ramos will use his third and final Pokémon!"

"Weepinbell, return. Gogoat, I choose you!" Ramos shouted, summoning the massive goat-like Pokémon. "You're stronger than I expected, I'll admit. Well done, Charlotte."

"My Braixen—and my other Pokémon—are not ones to underestimate," she replied confidently. "But…I do want to challenge myself. Braixen, return, Deerling, let's go!" she shouted, re-summoning her Season Pokémon. "Ready? Use energy ball!"

"Gogoat, bulldoze!" Ramos commanded. The Mount Pokémon slammed its hooves on the ground, shaking the earth beneath it and directing the violent shaking towards its opponent. Deerling attempted to fire back with energy ball, but misfired due to the shaking and was knocked off of his feet. "Now, razor leaf!"

"Deerling, faint attack into double kick!" Charlotte commanded. The Season Pokémon disappeared before re-appearing once more, this time slamming into Gogoat, and repeatedly with double kick.

"Horn leech!" Ramos commanded, and Gogoat quickly spun around and headbutted Deerling with its long, black horns as they illuminated a bright green color. Deerling collapsed to the ground, weakened by the attack.

"C'mon, Deerling! You can do it! Get back up!" Charlotte called out. Deerling attempted to, but collapsed once more from a flurry of razor leaves.

"Deerling is unable to battle, Gogoat is the winner!" the referee declared. "Challenger Charlotte will now use her next Pokémon."

"Smeargle, I choose you!" Charlotte shouted, summoning the Painting Pokémon—her first Pokémon. "Use ember!"

"Gogoat, bulldoze!" Ramos commanded, and the Mount Pokémon shook the ground in the direction of Smeargle, who leapt into the air and spun around, firing off embers from her tail. They each struck Gogoat, who winced from the attack. "Horn leech!"

"Dodge and use quick attack!" Charlotte commanded. Smeargle bend her knees a little, waiting for Gogoat to get closer. Once she felt the time was right, Smeargle shifted to the side and dashed down the field before turning back and charging back towards her trainer, spinning through the air at one point and slamming Gogoat with her long, paint-covered tail. "Now, ember!"

"Horn leech!" Ramos commanded. Smeargle went first, shooting fireballs at Gogoat's back before the Mount Pokémon spun around and, in a repeat of the battle with Deerling, charged at Smeargle with glowing green horns, knocking the normal type to the ground. As it was healing from the sapped energy, Charlotte noticed a blackened mark on Gogoat's back.

Ramos also seemed to notice it, despite his height. He ordered Gogoat to use razor leaf, presumably to keep Smeargle down on the ground. This worked until Charlotte commanded her Pokémon to use quick attack, which enabled Smeargle to evade the rest of the razor leaves and shift herself to Gogoat's side.

"On its back, Smeargle! Use hex!" she shouted, feeling victory within her grasp. Smeargle leapt high into the air, throwing her tail outwards towards Gogoat and firing off a purple and black ball of spectral energy. Gogoat, however, saw this coming and moved out of the way on Ramos' command before using razor leaf and knocking Smeargle out of the air and onto the ground.

"Bulldoze!" Ramos commanded.

Once the attack hit, and Smeargle struggled to get back up, Charlotte began to desperately search for some sort of solution to this. She wanted Smeargle to walk away with something—a win, specifically. Knowing that she had Braixen as back-up helped her feel better about her chances at beating Ramos, but she wanted all of her Pokémon to have some time in the limelight.

"Smeargle, quick attack!" she commanded. When Ramos, expectedly, used bulldoze, she shouted for the Painter Pokémon to leap into the air, just as Quilladin had before.

"Ah, this again. Gogoat, use razor leaf!" Ramos commanded. "Just like last time!"

Gogoat fired off a vortex of leaves upwards, aimed at Smeargle. Instead, the Painter Pokémon took the hits and landed on top of Gogoat's back.

"USE HEX!" Charlotte commanded. Smeargle grabbed Gogoat's horn with one hand and, with the other, directed her tail to strike at the burn mark on Gogoat's back, and fired. Smeargle was repelled upwards and then to the ground, while Gogoat collapsed on its side.

"Gogoat is unable to battle and…" the referee turned to Smeargle, who slowly got back up. "Smeargle is the winner! The victory goes to Charlotte from Castelia City!"

Charlotte nodded happily—her first Pokémon won her a gym badge. She couldn't have felt prouder in that moment.

* * *

"Niko, Charlotte, I was very much impressed with your battling styles. Here, as a token of proof that you have defeated me, I award you both with the Plant Badge."

Ramos held out two small, forest green badges in the shapes of leaves, each with lighter green vines running through the middle of it in the shape of a small plant. Niko and Charlotte each took the badge in their hands, looked at one another, and smiled.

"Hey, that means we can challenge the Lumiose City Gym now!" Charlotte said. "Remember Niko? When we first came to Lumiose City they—"

"I remember, Charlotte," Niko said calmly. "And we'll defeat the gym leader there, too."

Charlotte nodded, and the both of them thanked Ramos for his hospitality before leaving for the Pokémon Center in Coumarine City, their time in the port city drawing to a close.


	25. Disputes in the badlands!

**Episode 25: Disputes in the badlands!**

The only path to Lumiose City was through a barren plain covered in red clay, known as the Lumiose Badlands. According to Charlotte's guidebook, the walking distance between the Coumarine and Lumiose City was roughly a week. And they would have to spend that time in the hot, barren badlands of the Kalos region.

The first day went off without a hitch. Niko and Charlotte began training for their gym battle in Lumiose City, and Warren chronicled their previous battle against Ramos, asking his friends for help filling in blanks in his memory. During their training session, Niko and Charlotte worked together to help Braixen teach Fletchinder flame charge. The Ember Pokémon, disappointed in her own performance against Ramos' Weepinbell, eagerly jumped into the new training without complaint, working far harder at mastering the move than Niko had ever seen from his Pokémon. She also worked on learning a move called razor wind, which was similar to air slash in effect and style.

Niko's other Pokémon continued with their usual moves, the only exception being Amaura this time, with the Tundra Pokémon attempting to learn aurora beam, but with limited success. Charlotte's other Pokémon also seemed to go through the usual motions, with only Larvitar still learning rock slide—and getting _much_ better at it—and Braixen attempting to learn psybeam in her spare time, with limited success.

More interesting than their attempts at new moves and strategies was their reaction to the badlands environment. Larvitar relished it, feeling more at home than in any other environment the group had been in, bar Roche Village. Amaura, on the other hand, struggled the most with it, eventually fainting after half an hour of training, and requiring Niko and his friends to spray her with cold water to cool her down. Eventually, Niko simply returned her to her pokéball and hoped that she would start to feel better. She did, luckily, but it was clear she couldn't handle the badlands and would only come out of her pokéball to eat and drink.

On a more personal level, Niko had a lot to consider as well. Since leaving Coumarine City, everything he saw in Charlotte—her actions, facial expressions, words—came off differently. He suddenly found himself more attracted to her. _Is this because I know she has feelings for me, or have I known this all along, but repressed it because there were other, more important things going on around me?_ Niko thought to himself constantly. The more he thought about he, he discovered, the more confused he felt. He couldn't wait until they got to Lumiose City, so he could be with her, one-on-one, and hopefully find the answer to his questions.

On the third day of their journey, Niko was eating a sandwich with Quilladin and Fletchinder on each side of him. Across from their small camp, Charlotte and Warren were working on their individual hobbies. Warren was writing, and Charlotte was beginning a new sketch, this time on Niko's Swirlix, who was posing for her nearby.

Suddenly, they heard an increasingly loud sound coming from off in the distance. Niko looked up and, behind his friends and what looked like a couple miles away, was a crowd of flying creatures. And they were coming straight for them.

"Guys…" Niko said, pointing up towards the creatures. "We should move."

Charlotte and Warren turned to see what was coming for them, and immediately scrambled to pack up and move out of the way. While they were doing this, Niko squinted to get a better look, and recognized the Pokémon. They were vibrava and flygon, and they seemed to be in a group no larger than a dozen and a half of them. In the lead was a flygon, larger than the others, with two other flygon flanking it. Behind the trio were several more vibrava, flying low to the ground and emitting an awful sound from their wings.

Fortunately, the trio managed to get out of the way, just in time. The flygon and vibrava hardly seemed to notice them, and kept on their way.

"What was that about?" Charlotte asked, whipping out her pokédex:

" _Vibrava, the Vibration Pokémon. Ground and dragon type. The ultrasonic waves it generates by rubbing its two wings together cause severe headaches._ "

" _Flygon, the Mystic Pokémon. Ground and dragon type. It hides itself by kicking up desert and sand with its wings. Red covers shield its eyes from sand._ "

Niko shrugged. "I've only seen them in Hoenn, really. My brother Jake caught their basic stage, Trapinch, and probably owns one of them now, too."

"That's badass, you know that right?" Warren said, looking back at the flygon.

"Oh of course. My brother is a badass," Niko smirked.

After the incident with the dragon Pokémon, Niko and his friends continued through the badlands, coincidentally in the direction that the Pokémon had gone. However, at sunset Niko looked and saw something off in the distance, struggling to move.

It was clearly a small creature, but when Niko ran up to it, he recognized it to be a Pokémon. Breaking into a light jog, he ran up and noticed a small gible laying sideways on the ground with cuts all over its blue-colored body.

"Oh no…what happened to it?" Charlotte asked, kneeling down to touch the gible, who attempted to snap at her before collapsing back on the ground.

"It must've been bullied by something…" Warren said, looking down at the cuts. "Those look like they were done by something else, clearly something strong. Gible, may we help you?"

Gible looked initially reluctant, but eventually acquiesced, letting Niko help sit it up and allow Warren to apply bandages and other necessary aides to help it recover. Soon enough, they were all eating something Niko created—that wasn't overcooked or anything—and enjoyed the evening with a new friend. The gible seemed to react just fine to most of their Pokémon, only shying away from Swirlix, but for plainly obvious reasons.

"Alright gible, where is your home?" Niko said the following morning as they were about to continue on their journey. Gible looked around and then sighed, as if remembering something. "Err…do you _have_ a home, buddy?"

Gible nodded, but then shook its head, curiously enough. Confused, Niko turned to his friends for insight.

"Could it be—and this is a stretch—that this gible's home was destroyed?" Charlotte suggested. "It might explain the cuts it had. This gible probably got into some sort of fight."

"I—I didn't think about that, but it makes sense," Niko said, looking down at the gible. "Is it true? Did you lose your home?"

Gible looked away from the trio, and nodded. Niko then looked off in the direction that they were headed—the same direction gible had come from, and the same direction the flygon and vibrava had gone in. Then, it all seemed to click.

"Oh boy…" Niko said with a sigh. He turned to his friends, both of whom seemed to be thinking the same thing.

"There's some sort of fight going on between dragons around here," Warren said, finally putting their thoughts into words.

"Possibly some sort of territorial dispute. Is that correct?" Charlotte asked the gible. The small Land Shark Pokémon nodded gravely before turning towards the direction it had come from and nearly shedding tears. "What do we do?"

"I think we should investigate. It's clear that those flygon and vibrava we saw have a beef with this gible's relatives. Maybe we could intervene and solve it?"

"By what good does us—humans—intervening in a Pokémon territorial conflict really do?" Charlotte asked.

"I don't know, but it's clear this gible was on the losing end, and that doesn't seem right. There shouldn't be any conflicts over land, since it's everyone's to share!" Niko shouted, quickly realizing how idealistic he sounded. He then backed down, thinking through it again and coming to the same conclusion. "No, this is the right thing to do, I think."

"Alright then, fine," Charlotte said. "I'm with you."

"Same here," Warren said.

"Gible, we're going to help you get your home back," Niko said confidently. The Land Shark Pokémon looked up at Niko and its eyes glimmered a little, likely from the crying.

* * *

Niko and his friends didn't seem anything until they got to the edge of a hill overlooking a valley. Down into it, they noticed flygon and vibrava flying around at the bottom, pushing and shoving other Pokémon—gible, gabite, geodude—around and away from them as they moved. Niko whispered to gible, asking if this was the place. Gible nodded, its face darkening.

"This is insane," Warren said. "I had no idea Pokémon got like this."

"They do, and it can get ugly," Niko said, trying to remember a time he saw something similar, but couldn't immediately pull up a memory. "How do you think we should approach this? Should we just dive in, or try and play the diplomatic card?"

"Start with the latter," Charlotte suggested, "if not, we have a dozen Pokémon that can fight. And you have a fairy type, Niko."

"True. Alright, let's go," Niko said, taking his first step down into the valley. They made their way into what looked like a primitive village. Niko found himself amazed that Pokémon created the necessities integral to building a community—huts, a market of some sort, and even a small garden. "Dragon Pokémon did this? _Gible's_ evolution line did this?"

"Clearly so. It's very impressive," Warren said as he walked past a particularly frightened gible, not unlike the one in their temporary possession.

Suddenly, the trio and gible were stopped by a vibrava hovering a couple feet off of the ground. "Hi, sorry for intruding. We found this gible out in the badlands and wanted to bring it home. Is this where it belongs?"

The vibrava eyed the gible, and shook its head.

"Really now?" Niko said sternly. "Because a Pokémon never forgets where it came from, just like humans don't either. If this gible says it's from here, I'm likely to believe it."

Vibrava then emitted a loud, aggressive sound at Niko indicating its frustration. Niko plugged his ears until the awful sound went away, and continued to stare down the vibrava.

"Niko…umm…" Charlotte said, tapping her friend on the shoulder. Niko turned to look around him.

They were surrounded by vibrava.

"Alright, diplomacy is over," Niko said calmly, pulling out a pokéball. "Swirlix, fairy wind!"

The Cotton Candy Pokémon immediately shot out of her pokéball and emitted a powerful gust of sparkling wind that knocked the lead vibrava to the ground before spinning above Niko like a top and firing off gusts of wind in every direction, blowing back the vibrava.

"Leave!" Niko shouted at the now injured Vibration Pokémon. "This is not your home! It's this gible's!"

The vibrava looked furious, but instead flew off, leaving the trio and gible alone on the dirt road they were on. Pokémon watching the street fight from afar slowly, and cautiously, began to reveal themselves. One Pokémon, a gabite, ran up to them. In response, the gible ran towards it and leapt into the air, landing in the gabite's arms.

"Must be a parent, or something," Niko muttered with a smile. Just then, he heard a loud buzzing sound from above. Looking up, he noticed three flygons hovering above him, the largest one in the middle and flanked by two ordinary-sized ones. "Guess we should've seen that one coming. Swirlix, use fairy wind!"

"Deerling, use energy ball!" Charlotte shouted, throwing out a pokéball.

"Poliwhirl, ice punch!" Warren commanded. The Tadpole Pokémon jumped onto a nearby clay hut and rocketed off, colliding in midair with one of the ordinary flygon and knocking it to the ground while Swirlix and Deerling fought from a distance. The gible and its parent gabite ran off on Niko's direction, leaving the trio—and their Pokémon—to face off against the flygon.

The flygon all simultaneously belted out a flamethrower, knocking Poliwhirl and Swirlix to the ground and harming Deerling, leaving a remarkable burn on the Season Pokémon. Charlotte rushed to his side before commanding another energy ball.

Just then, the vibrava once more surrounded the trio, having recovered from Swirlix's fairy wind. All of them opened their mouths and began to use what looked like dragonbreath before, out of nowhere, another awful sound erupted from an unidentified location. Covering his ears, Niko looked around to see, but couldn't identify it. Then the two ordinary flygon were hit in the back by a purple beam of energy and collapsed onto the ground, leaving the main one confused.

Behind the flygon was a garchomp, and a large one at that. The purple land shark fired off another energy beam that looked similar to hyper beam at the flygon, who dodged and flew off towards combat, leaving Niko and his friends to deal with the vibrava.

"Swirlix, fairy wind!" Niko shouted. The Cotton Candy Pokémon repeated the attack hitting nearly everyone with Poliwhirl's help. Niko then noticed the two flygons getting up and charging towards their leader fighting the garchomp.

"Deerling, energy ball!" Charlotte called out, noticing it at the same time as Niko. The Season Pokémon struck one of the flygons in the back and attracted the attention of the other. "Faint attack!"

"Swirlix, cotton spore!" Niko commanded. However, the flygon fired off a flamethrower that burst the small cottonballs and continued on its warpath towards Deerling, ultimately smacking it in the side of the face with a powerful tail whip. Deerling collapsed onto the ground, his face bruised up. Swirlix and Poliwhirl then tackled the flygon, who shook them off and doused them in flamethrower before returning its attention to the Deerling.

It opened its mouth to use flamethrower when Charlotte got in front of it. "No!" she shouted, holding her arms out. "You. Will. Not. Lay. A. Hand. On. Deerling!"

"Charlotte!" Niko shouted, holding a pokéball in his hands. As he was about to throw it, the lead flygon fell to the ground with the garchomp seemingly victorious. This distracted both of the other flygons, who shot at the exhausted land shark and began pelting it with what looked like dragon pulses. "Clauncher, water pulse!"

"Deerling, are you alright?" Charlotte said, kneeling down to her Season Pokémon, lightly touching the bruise on his face, causing him to wince. "It's okay, I'm here. Once this madness is over I'll fix you right up, alright?"

Deerling nodded, and slowly got up, noticing for the first time the garchomp getting pummeled, and Clauncher and Warren's Poliwhirl trying to intervene without luck. Deerling's face hardened, and he trotted off at a quick pace to catch up, ignoring Charlotte's calls for him to come back. As he was running off to the edge of the small clay village, he began to glow a bright white color, expanding his body out in all directions, a new Pokémon taking form in his place.

Charlotte's jaw dropped. Never had she imagined her Deerling—the first Pokémon she caught on her journey—evolving. But when it did, it looked absolutely majestic.

The new Pokémon was just a couple inches taller than Niko, and his fur was a brown and white-color. He had rhomboid ears and darker ear insides. His eyes had light orange markings that curved down to the sides of his face. Light-orange stripes rimmed his underbelly, and his back was decorated with white spots. A tuft of white fur appeared on his chest and lower limbs, and his antlers were coated white.

"SAWS!" the Pokémon shouted before its two horns began to glow bright green.

"Horn leech…" Charlotte said, remembering Ramos' Gogoat using the same move. "GO! Use horn leech!"

The Pokémon charged at both of the flygons, lowering his head and dragging them across the ground with his antlers and away from the garchomp before lifting his head again and firing off an energy ball at both of them. The flygons, now frightened, got up and flew off—just like that. The main flygon, the leader, slowly got up, glared at garchomp and Deerling's evolved form and also flew off, the tired and defeated vibrava following closely behind.

" _Sawsbuck, the Season Pokémon. Normal and grass type. They migrate according to the seasons. People can tell the season by looking at Sawsbuck's horns,_ " Charlotte's pokédex read.

"Sawsbuck…you were amazing," Charlotte said, reaching up and petting her Pokémon's antlers before moving down and caressing his neck. Sawsbuck then nuzzled his trainer's head before turning to Niko, Warren, and their exhausted Pokémon.

"Well, wasn't that just a big mess?" Warren said, looking around. Suddenly the garchomp approached them, and held out its claw.

"Oh? You're welcome," Niko said, shaking the claw first. Garchomp then pat Sawsbuck on the head in a friendly gesture before turning to the gible, gabite, and other inhabitants of the small Pokémon village. "Guess we should probably get going, right?" he said, turning to his friends. It was roughly midday, and they needed to continue on their way to Lumiose City.

"Yeah, I think so. Ready, Sawsbuck?" Charlotte asked. Sawsbuck nodded and got low to the ground, allowing for his trainer to ride on his back. Charlotte, albeit nervously, got up and on her Pokémon before the three left the barren claw valley to continue their journey.

"Gib!" they heard a small voice cry out. Turning around, it was the gible they had met, along with two gabites on each side.

"Hey gible. These your parents?" Warren asked. Gible nodded happily, looking up at each one. The gabites both walked up to Warren, Niko, and Charlotte and hugged them tightly before letting go and muttering something in their own language.

"You're…welcome?" Niko said curiously, hoping he was right in assuming that they were thanking him and his friends. He was right when the gabites nodded happily. "Glad to help. Hopefully those flygon stay away in the future."

The gabite nodded gravely before waving goodbye. The gible looked up at them and nodded happily, also waving farewell.

"Bye, gible!" Niko shouted as he turned on his feet and continued up and out of the valley with his friends, Lumiose City only a few days away.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Let me know what you guys think of this episode, as it's a little different from my usual formula. I wrote it with the intention of having a sort of "chaotic" environment in the Lumiose Badlands, but i'm not entirely sure how well that came off, so please let me know if there's anything you think I should change or add, and i'll certainly consider it. If you're worried about any loose ends, my goal is to include more of this environment in the next episode, which I have yet to write (as of now), but should be a little more interesting than this episode.**


	26. The inventor

**Episode 26: The inventor**

"The only thing worth visiting in the badlands is that, apparently," Charlotte said, looking up and pointing at the massive structure off in the distance, resting at the edge of a mountain range. "The Kalos Power Plant."

"It's actually kinda beautiful, in a science-y sort of way," Niko said, remembering the other power plants he had visited on his adventures. This one was, by far, the best looking of them. "Wanna check it out?"

"If we're allowed to, sure," Charlotte replied. Shrugging, Niko set off towards what looked like the entrance, a steel door that looked like it was set on a pair of tracks that allowed it to move automatically. Behind the door—and the walls on both ends of it—was a cylindrical structure with nearly a dozen pointed metal spears placed at an angle and pointing to the top of the cylinder. Large, generator-like objects were scattered around the plant.

As they approached the Power Plant, they noticed a young man standing at the front entrance, looking up into it. He turned around, and Niko recognized him as Oliver, the young trainer he met back in Camphrier Town.

"Ah, hey Niko," he said in a rather quiet voice. "How are you?"

"Good, Oliver. What're you doing here?"

"Well, one of my Pokémon isn't feeling well. And not in the usual way."

"You can't go to a Pokémon Center?" Niko asked, his expression hardening. What couldn't a Pokémon Center heal?

"Well, for one thing, there isn't one within miles of here. And two: it's a problem relating to electric type Pokémon. I have a pikachu, you see, and for some reason she isn't able to use electric moves. We were training earlier, and when I commanded her to use electro ball, she couldn't even form the attack, much less use it."

"That's bizarre," Warren said, "and you think the Power Plant will help you?"

"Yes. The person who helped to build it is also the Lumiose City Gym Leader, Clemont, who is a famous inventor also known as the electric-type prodigy. I was hoping he could fix my problem. Also rumor has it that he once travelled with an incredibly powerful pikachu, so he has experience with my particular Pokémon."

Niko nodded. "Should we try to go inside?"

"I can't. They won't let me in, for whatever reason," Oliver said, turning back to look at the entrance, which had a panel next to the sliding door with dozens of buttons. "A code is required to get in, and I obviously don't have that code."

Just then, they heard a loud buzzing sound. Turning around, Niko's eyes widened as he saw the same flygon from before, but in a seemingly larger group.

" _Again_?!" he shouted. Oliver turned to him in confusion. "We literally just saw these flygon yesterday! What're they doing here?"

"No idea, but we need to find shelter," Oliver said, looking around for somewhere to hide. "Uhh…over there!" he said, pointing to a small enclave in the mountain nearby.

"GET IN!" a dorky, nasally voice shouted from behind them, from across the gate. When Niko and his friends turned around, they saw a tall, blonde-haired man with large circular glasses vigorously motioning them inside. "ARE YOU DEAF? GET IN!"

Niko, his friends, and Oliver all scrambled into the gate, and then crossed the hundred-foot pathway to get to the front entrance of the Power Plant, and quickly locked themselves inside.

"What were you children doing out there?" the blond man asked, panting heavily. "Geez…I seriously need to run more," he then stood up to his full height, where he was just a couple inches shorter than Niko. He wore a buttoned-white shirt and navy slacks with a yellow and sky blue striped tie, giving him a more business-like impression.

"We were actually waiting to come inside, but couldn't because we didn't have a code," Niko said, also panting.

"There's a reason for that, you know," the blonde man said, pushing up his glasses and staring at them with his hardened gray eyes. "We get intruders more than you think."

"Oh, I believe it. Anyways, why are those flygon attacking the Power Plant?"

"No idea. It seems like they're some sort of gang trying to take control of the badlands. And maybe they see the Power Plant as some sort of foe? I really have no idea…"

"We fought them yesterday actually," Niko said, sparking the interest of the man, "yeah, they were raiding a village of gible, gabite, and garchomp."

"Territorial reasons, probably. That's been going on for years. Thanks for helping with that," he said as he turned into a room lined with machines. "Anyways, you can stay here until they leave. They won't be here long."

"Perfect. I'm actually looking for someone who works here," Oliver said. The blonde man turned to look at him curiously. "Do you know a guy named Clemont?"

"Oh, yeah of course. He's me," Clemont said matter-of-factly. "What do you need?"

"You see, my Pikachu is having problems using electric type moves," Oliver explained, "and I came here to figure out way. I know you're not only an electric type gym leader, but you're also a prodigy who travelled with a pikachu once!"

"Yeah, _once_. And I used to be a gym leader. But I can help you out. Follow me," Clemont said plainly, verbally waving off everything Oliver had said. He left the room with the black-afroed trainer in tow, leaving the trio to themselves.

Niko looked around the room they were in. There were monitors up close to the ceiling and computers set up along an extended table below them. To the sides of the room were shelves filled with books and other electronics scattered around.

"Did Clemont say he used to be the gym leader?" Warren wondered after a couple minutes of silence.

"Yeah, what's the problem with that? People change jobs and move on," Niko said.

"It was the way he said it, though, that got me thinking—there's definitely a reason why, and it isn't a good one I think," Warren explained.

"Well, if he isn't our opponent, then who will be?" Charlotte wondered.

"I don't think it matter just yet. I'm more interested in these flygon," Niko said as he looked at a monitor displaying the security footage outside. There were now nearly two dozen vibrava and flygon hovering outside the Power Plant, clearly looking for something to destroy. "Those Pokémon are mad."

"Reminds me of a dystopian movie I once saw," Charlotte mentioned. "Yeah, I'm kinda into those movies, actually. This is a similar scenario—where competing factions in a post-apocalyptic world fight for control of whatever's left. It's pretty crazy if you ask me."

"Sounds fascinating. I'll have to watch one of those movies some time," Niko replied, turning back to the monitor.

"We could watch one together, if you'd like," Charlotte said as she opened one of the books on the shelf. It was titled "The Logic of Electric Type Pokémon: An introduction."

"Yeah, sure," Niko said, turning to Warren, who's eyebrows were raised in surprise. Minutes later, Oliver and Clemont walked back into the room, a familiar yellow mouse with red cheeks and a heart-shaped tail sitting on the former's shoulder. "All better?"

"Yep!" Oliver said with a smile, which was odd to Niko. He had never seen Oliver really smile before.

"Piiiii-ka!" the pikachu cheered happily.

"It wasn't too hard to fix," Clemont explained to Niko, Warren, and Charlotte, "just needed to jump-start pikachu's internal battery. Occasionally electric types will have that sort of problem, and it's easily solvable if you know what you're doing."

"Gotcha. So, Clemont…" Warren asked, "why are you no longer a gym leader?"

Clemont turned from the monitor to Warren. "It doesn't interest me anymore. I lost confidence in myself and in my ability to battle effectively."

He sighed. "I'm of the belief that a gym leader's job is to teach their challengers something, either through a win or a loss. When I began travelling with one of my closest friends, he wanted to battle me specifically, and not the robot gym leader that I created to run the gym in my absence.

"And so when the time came—when he defeated Ramos and I was next—I left him and my other friends to go train. I wanted to give him a battle that he could remember and appreciate, as well as one that would test his limits. And I accomplished that, but I couldn't do it for everyone.

"I felt like a failure—and still do—and I quit my job as a gym leader. There, satisfied?"

Niko simply nodded. "I get it. My friend is only asking because Charlotte and I—my name's Niko, by the way—are planning on challenging the Lumiose Gym."

"Well, good luck," Clemont said dismissively. "I have other things to worry about, like these flygon."

"Would you like some help?" Niko proposed, getting Clemont's attention again. "We've dealt with them before," he said as he noticed the flygon and vibrava were attempting to burn the plant to the ground. Fortunately, Clemont had some sort of defensive shield up to keep them at bay.

"I don't know how you can help, but sure, whatever."

Niko shook his head and turned to Charlotte and Warren. "We can fight them."

"Fight? Niko, it's a dozen vibrava!"

"Two dozen, actually," Oliver piped in.

"We literally just dealt with them a day ago, Clemont. We can handle it," Niko said.

"But you're just a trainer! You can't defeat that many Pokémon! You need a plan, and science, to solve this!"

"Watch me," Niko said, exiting the room. Charlotte and Warren, shocked by his confidence, left as well. Oliver looked at Clemont, thanked him, and also left with his Pikachu on his shoulder.

At the entrance to the Power Plant, Niko looked up and around the plant to see the three main flygon and the vibrava hovering around them. Amidst the onslaught of flamethrowers and dragon pulses, they noticed the four trainers standing at the entrance and began firing down at them.

"Honedge, protect!" Oliver shouted, summoning a sword-like creature. It erected a light green protective shield around the four of them, blocking from the streams of fire and draconic energy raining down on them. "You better have a plan, because this won't hold out!"

"I do. Swirlix, use fairy wind!" Niko shouted.

"Frillish, ominous wind!" Charlotte commanded.

"Leavanny, razor leaf!" Warren called out.

"Honedge, use iron defense, and then aerial ace!" Oliver said. The Sword Pokémon began to glow a bright gray color before unsheathing itself and striking forward at the nearest vibrava, slashing it to the ground and disrupting the others around it. Meanwhile, Swirlix blew some of them away with fairy wind alongside Frillish and Leavanny. The four of them continued firing off attacks until they had gotten rid of most of the vibrava leaving, just like last time, the flygon.

Flygon cried out loudly, staring directly at Niko with its ruby-red eyes. It then quickly opened its maw and blew out a dragonbreath towards him, which Swirlix eagerly blocked with her body, until the other flygon belted out a flamethrower and knocked her to the ground along with Leavanny and Honedge.

"Frogadier, I choose you!" Oliver shouted. "Use water pulse! Pikachu, iron tail!"

Niko, seeing Oliver get back into the fight, also summoned his other Pokémon. "Quilladin, Clauncher, go! Pin missile, water pulse!"

"Larvitar, rock slide!" Charlotte commanded.

"Poliwhirl, ride the rock slide and use ice punch!" Warren called out. The Tadpole Pokémon leapt into the air, bouncing off of the dozen or so rocks that Charlotte's Larvitar conjured to get higher into the air and strike at one of the flygon, tackling it to the ground. Meanwhile, Oliver's Pokémon took down the other ordinary-sized flygon with his two Pokémon, and Niko's Pokémon took on the main one, which was larger than the others.

"Keep it up, Quilladin!" Niko shouted as the Spiny Armor Pokémon continually fired off green missiles at the flygon, most of which missed due to the Mystic Pokémon's agile maneuvering. It quickly disposed of Clauncher with a dragon pulse overpowering the latter's water pulse, and used flamethrower to not only block the pin missile, but also hit Quilladin and knock him out as well. "Ugh…"

"We got this, Niko," Oliver said plainly while still watching his Pokémon fight. "Don't give up."

Niko nodded. "You're right, sorry."

"Don't apologize either. There's no need. Frogadier, use smokescreen! Pikachu, iron tail!"

Just then, the main flygon whipped away the smokescreen with a single blast of its tail and put down Pikachu with a dragon pulse, finishing off the last of their Pokémon. _I don't remember this thing being so powerful_ , Niko thought to himself.

"FIRE!" a familiar voice shouted, and suddenly a loud sound emitted from the Power Plant, causing the flygon and vibrava to wail out in clear pain. "Now! Go!" Clemont's voice sounded over a loudspeaker. "Get away!"

Just as he said this, the Vibration and Mystic Pokémon fled the area to get away from the supposedly awful sound, allowing Niko and his friends to return their Pokémon and get inside, into the Power Plant. At the entrance they found Clemont standing there.

"Th-thanks for that, Clemont," Niko said.

"That was stupid of you, I hope you understand that," he said in his nasally voice. "But…what you did was the right thing, too. It's what my friend would have done and, years ago, what I would have done, too. You're all impressive trainers, and remind me of when I was much younger than you guys are now. Thanks for helping me, not just with the Power Plant but also for helping me realize something that was previously missing."

"You're welcome, I guess," Niko said with a shrug.

"Heh. Anyways, as a way of thanking you, let me take you all to Lumiose City. That's your destination, right?"

"It's ours…" Niko said before turning to Oliver. "Is it yours?"

"Yes. I wanna challenge the Lumiose Gym. But first, Niko, I want to have a battle with you."

"Me?" Niko asked before smirking. "You're on."

"Ah, rivalries…" Clemont said with a wry smile. "I miss those."

* * *

" _Frogadier, the Bubble Frog Pokémon_ ," Charlotte's pokédex read, " _Water type. It can throw bubble-covered pebbles with precise control, hitting empty cans up to a hundred feet away._ "

"Go, Niko!" she shouted as Oliver sent out his Frogadier to challenge Niko's Quilladin, the first match of a two-on-two battle.

"Quilladin, vine whip!" Niko commanded.

"Frogadier, use smokescreen," Oliver said calmly. The Bubble Frog Pokémon belted out smoke from its mouth, covering its tracks and forcing Quilladin's attack to miss. Niko and his Pokémon waited for something—anything—to indicate their opponent's location. "Now! Acrobatics!"

Frogadier shot out of the smoke and briefly disappeared before reappearing and gracefully kicking Quilladin in the side, launching him across the practice battlefield and onto the ground. The Spiny Armor Pokémon quickly got back up and, on Niko's command, burst into a rollout towards his opponent. "Leap out and use pin missile!" Niko called out.

"Frogadier, dodge and use water pulse!" Oliver commanded. The Bubble Frog Pokémon phased to the left, evading the green missiles, and fired off a pulsating orb of water at its opponent, striking Quilladin in the opposite side this time, and knocking it to the ground. "Now, finish it off with acrobatics!"

"Frog…frog…" Frogadier muttered as it shifted around in the space between before striking at its opponent, ending the battle with Quilladin.

"Quilladin is unable to battle," Warren, who acted as referee, declared, "Niko will use his next Pokémon!"

"Quilladin, return," Niko said.

"Frogadier, return," Oliver also said. "I see your Pokémon is listening to you now. Hopefully its working out well," he said, this time with a smile.

"It is, as a matter of fact," Niko said, another pokéball in his hand. "Swirlix, you're up!"

"Charmeleon, let's go!" Oliver commanded. "Use flamethrower!"

" _Charmeleon, the Flame Pokémon. Fire type. It lashes about with its tail to knock down its foe. It then tears up the fallen opponent with sharp claws_ ," Charlotte's pokédex read.

"Swirlix, use fairy wind to blow it away, and follow up with cotton spore!" Niko shouted. The Cotton Candy Pokémon obliged, firing off a gust of wind the burnt out the jet of fire and swirled around, slowly releasing small white balls of cotton into the air, all of them floating towards Charmeleon.

"Burn them up with flame burst!" Oliver shouted. Charmeleon obliged, opening its maw and firing off a small fireball that, upon contact with one of the cotton balls, exploded and shot embers in every other direction, hitting the other cotton balls and causing them to burst as well. "Now, flamethrower!"

"Swirlix, dodge and use round!" Niko commanded. Swirlix edged herself to the side, barely missing the attack, before spinning back around to face Charmeleon and let out a loud sound from her mouth, hitting Charmeleon and knocking it to the ground. "Now, fairy wind!" Niko commanded. Swirlix conjured up a gust of sparkling wind just as Charmeleon lit up on fire and charged at her. The Flame Pokémon collided with Swirlix and knocked her to the ground before it fired off another flamethrower, dousing her in it. "Swirlix!"

"Swirlix is unable to battle, Charmeleon is the winner!" Warren declared. "The winner of the match is Oliver!"

"Thanks for the battle, Niko," Oliver said as he returned Charmeleon and walked up to his defeated opponent. "I wish you best of luck against whoever the Lumiose Gym Leader is," he held out his hand and waited for Niko to shake it."

He did. "Same to you, Oliver. I'm glad your Pikachu could get its electricity back."

"Ch'yeah, me too. Anyway, see you later," he said, waving to Charlotte and Warren as he left the Pokémon Center. Niko turned to his friends and simply shrugged.

"Guess we just have to train more."

* * *

Clemont sat down at his desk and looked up at the monitors, eying security footage from the fight with flygon earlier. He let out a deep sigh as he saw the four trainers battling it out. A lot was running through his head. He was impressed by their tenacity; their "never give up" attitude. Their willingness to defend something—anything—that mattered to them. They had a sense of justice. Just like someone Clemont knew well.

"He wouldn't have wanted me to act like this. I can do better," Clemont said to himself as a luxray sat down next to his chair. He reached down to pet it. "I will do better. And you'll be by my side, right buddy?"

The luxray looked up at Clemont and nodded, purring loudly.


	27. Hanging out

**Episode 27: "Hanging out"**

"Something for me, Delibird?" Daisy asked as she picked up the small package from the Delivery Pokémon's hands. "Must be from Niko. Thanks!"

"Deli! Deli deli!" Delibird said as he waddled off to the backyard to see his friends—Niko's other Pokémon while Daisy opened the package. Inside was a light green scarf with a small stone embedded on it.

"This is what Niko wanted to give to Venusaur?" she asked herself, already knowing the answer to the question. Ignoring her personal confusion, she left the kitchen table and followed Delibird outside, greeting some of Niko's Pokémon on the way, such as Serperior and Sceptile, who had become close friends in Niko's absence. The one she really wanted to see was in the other end of the backyard, sitting under the shade of a tree and clearly not wanting to be bothered.

Since coming back to Pallet Town from his brief trip to Kalos, Venusaur had taken a largely antisocial attitude, hardly talking to any of the other Pokémon around him, and only eating when he had to. It bothered Daisy, and made her wonder what had happened in Kalos to force her son to send his closest partner back so quickly. _What on Earth was he up to?_ She wondered curiously. At the same time, she wondered if this…gift…was a consolation of some sort.

"Venusaur," Daisy said as she approached the Seed Pokémon. "This is from Niko. He wanted me to give it to you."

Venusaur eyed the scarf, noticing the stone in particular, and gave Daisy an angry glare, as if she had called him an offensive name.

"D-do you not want it?" she asked. Venusaur's continued glare at her said it all, and she nodded understandingly. "Right. Well, if you change your mind, please let me know."

As she walked back inside, she decided it was time to pay a visit to her old friend, Professor Oak.

* * *

"How is Oliver so good if he's just a beginner?" Warren asked as the three of them sat in Café Gallant in Lumiose City.

"You thought I was too good for a beginner, too," Niko replied, "only you were convinced that I _was_."

"Well, yes, but that's not the same thing!" Warren stammered. "He _actually_ is, right? And he's managed to beat you on two occasions."

"I'm not too worried about it. I'm used to having rivals that are stronger than me and my Pokémon," Niko said with a shrug. "Just gives me a reason to train more, right?"

"Of course," Warren sat back, a cup of tea in his hands. "When do you both plan on going to the Lumiose Gym?"

Niko and Charlotte looked at one another. They hadn't quite considered it. Niko in particular was torn on when, since he wanted to take Warren's advice and do something with Charlotte in hopes of solidifying his feelings for her. So he essentially waited on Charlotte to respond, but it didn't look like she was.

"Today?" she finally asked.

"I was thinking tomorrow, or even the day after, actually," Niko then said. "Y'know, so we can train."

Warren simply sipped his tea, a slight smirk on his face.

"That works with me! I know you want to after battling Oliver. And, if electric types are the specialty here, I kinda want to work with Larvitar."

"Think he'll finally get his gym debut?" Niko asked, noticing that the spunky Rock Skin Pokémon hadn't gotten his time to shine just yet.

"I want him too. It's time for him to participate in a serious battle. I mean, he's wanted to since he hatched," Charlotte said. "And he doesn't know a ground move yet, so this is the perfect time to work on one, right?"

"Of course. Actually…I don't know what type will work against electric types," Niko said, "as far as my team is concerned."

"Amaura, Swirlix, and Quilladin?" Warren suggested. "The other two wouldn't be great options, if you think about it."

"Right. Everyone's kind of gotten some sort of spotlight now, so that works. Thanks!"

"No problem," Warren said with a less-than-sly wink.

The trio walked back to the Pokémon Center to begin training. As they did, Warren began walking faster than usual, prompting Charlotte to try and keep up with him. When it got to the point of a full-out run, she slowed down and stayed back with Niko, understandably confused.

"What's his deal?" Charlotte asked her other male companion.

"No clue," Niko said, suddenly realizing _why_ Warren had done this. "Say, Charlotte, do you wanna hang out tonight?"

"Hang out? We do that every night though," she replied in a matter-of-fact tone.

"N-no…I mean, err…like _go_ _out_."

"On a date?"

"NO! N-not a date. Just a…"

"A hang out."

"Yes. That."

"Sure! The three of us?"

Niko froze, drooped his head, and shook it. "No. The two of us."

"Oh…" Charlotte said, also stopping to look at Niko. "Yeah, let's do it!"

"Really?"

"Yes, Niko! Really! Where did you want to go?"

Niko froze again. _I didn't even think of that! Bah! You idiot!_ "I actually have no idea. Not familiar with the Lumiose nightlife."

"You might be surprised to hear this, Niko, but neither am I," Charlotte said, whispering the last four words, which brought a smile to her friend's face.

"Then we'll just wing it?"

"We'll just wing it," Charlotte said with a wink. "When do you want to go?"

The two of them spent the rest of the walk back to the Pokémon Center planning their night out, eventually telling Warren about it when they caught up with him. He seemed pleased, and recommended a restaurant called "Sushi High Roller" that he saw an advertisement for on a bulletin board nearby.

"I can also watch your Pokémon for the night!"

"You sure, Warren? There's a lot of them…" Niko asked.

"Pfft, of course! We'll have fun! I can train with them, treat them to something nice, it'll be great!"

Charlotte looked up at Niko with an eyebrow raised. _This seems like we're a married couple going out on our first date in years, and Warren is babysitting our children_ , she thought.

"Sure! I like the sound of that!" Charlotte said pleasantly. "I think they'll like spending time with you, Warren."

Warren didn't respond. Instead, he winked to his two companions.

* * *

"Ready?" Niko asked as he saw Charlotte enter the lobby of the Pokémon Center. She was dressed less casual than usual, albeit somewhat conservative, with a sky-blue dress shirt and a long skirt. Her short brunette hair was straightened and down, nearly reaching her shoulders.

Niko, by contrast, just wore jeans and a buttoned shirt. Hardly nice at all.

"Yep! Let's go!" she said as they exited the Pokémon Center and took a taxi to the northern part of the city, where the restaurant was. It didn't take too long to arrive, and they quickly discovered how packed it was on that particular evening. "Guess it's that time of year…?" Charlotte asked curiously and somewhat confused.

"Still want to go?" Niko asked.

"Of course. Warren recommended it, didn't he?" she said. Niko wasn't entirely sure if this was meant to be a joke or not, but it did make him laugh.

After nearly half an hour, they were finally seated and set to order. While they waited, they stared around awkwardly—at each other, at the table in between them, and at everyone around them. To Niko, it felt less natural at first. He felt like he was pressured to make a first impression.

"So…what made you want to go out tonight?" Charlotte asked.

 _Damn. What do I say now? Do I just come clean with it? What if she actually doesn't feel the same, and Warren misunderstood?_ "Well, we never really got a chance to just hang out, one on one. I thought maybe we could try it out."

"We have plenty of times, Niko. Sure, most of them are when Warren is asleep, but still."

"Why do you ask? Is this…weird at all?"

"Oh, no! I was just curious. It's…nice," Charlotte said with a half-smile. "I guess I didn't expect it, but also didn't realize that I wanted to do something similar."

 _What the hell does that even mean?_ "Feeling confident about the gym battle tomorrow?"

"Absolutely. Only problem was I couldn't think of a move to teach Larvitar. I think we'll be just fine, though! What about you?"

"Just fine, too. Swirlix might be on the verge of learning a new move—dazzling gleam. Ever heard of it?"

"I think it was used against you in the Vertress Conference, right?"

"Your memory is pretty good," Niko said with an eyebrow raised. "I just remembered it a couple days ago and figured Swirlix was probably capable of learning it! Also…for Larvitar, have you considered earth power?" Niko said, and Charlotte perked up, a light bulb lighting up above her head. She nodded happily, as if finally solving a difficult homework problem.

The two finally got their food and began eating, commenting all the while on the different types of raw fish they were consuming. When Niko took a bite into a crab-based roll, he immediately thought of Clauncher, and put it down.

"What's wrong?" Charlotte asked, thoroughly confused.

"Not sure I can eat crab anymore…" Niko said with a nervous smile. "I _own_ a crab now."

"Ah, I see," Charlotte said, taking his crab roll. "May I?"

"Of course."

* * *

"Alright you all!" Warren said as he clapped to address all of the trio's Pokémon. "We're going to have a tournament to see who is the strongest! Who's in?" All of them cheered, and they soon found themselves drawing straws to see who would go up against whom.

Since there were fourteen of them, the first round had even pairs, but in a tournament-style bracket, two would automatically move on to the second round. Those lucky two were Swirlix and Smeargle, and they watched the others battle against one another until only six other remained—Quilladin, Sawsbuck, Clauncher, Braixen, Poliwhirl, and Leavanny. Then Swirlix and Smeargle went and, in a close match, Swirlix came out on top.

"Well done everyone! Now we're down to the quarterfinals already!" Warren shouted in a mock-announcer tone. "First up—Quilladin versus Braixen!"

While this match was, from the start, heavily biased towards the Fox Pokémon, Quilladin put up a tough fight, managing to somehow dodge consecutive flame charges and land a powerful rollout attack. After them was Sawsbuck and Leavanny, with the latter pulling out a close win. That left Poliwhirl and Clauncher. Due to his ability, Clauncher powerfully put down the Tadpole Pokémon to secure his spot in the final four.

"Wow! What a bunch of incredible fights tonight, folks! We're now down to the final four—Braixen, Swirlix, Clauncher, and Leavanny! In our first match-up, Swirlix and Leavanny!"

Warren watched carefully as the two Pokémon dueled it out—Leavanny choosing a close-combat route that Swirlix kept skillfully dodging. The Cotton Candy Pokémon then, out of seemingly nowhere, created a bright, illuminating light from her body that blinded Leavanny, and followed up with a powerful fairy wind to defeat her opponent.

"Did you just…great job, Swirlix! Niko will be very proud!" Warren said happily. He then helped Leavanny up and brought her over to the bench with the others while they watched Clauncher and Braixen go up against one another.

Both Pokémon were, in many ways, the powerhouses of their respective teams, and were both capable of taking down a mega-evolved Pokémon—the only ones on their teams to do so thus far. Just like her previous opponent, Braixen was at a disadvantage, yet put up a solid fight before falling short of victory to a high-powered water pulse to the gut.

"And now…the finals…in one corner, we have the mega-launching crustacean himself: CLAUNCHER!

"In the other corner, the sweet-toothed bundle of cotton candy: the one, the only…SWIRLIX!" Warren shouted into an invisible microphone.

Swirlix and Clauncher took to the field and began fighting. Swirlix, skillful already at dodging attacks, managed to evade most of Clauncher's moves before launching her own. She started with a fairy wind before going into dazzling gleam to temporarily blind her opponent. Then, as she thought Niko would say, she fired off cotton spores towards her opponent, aiming specifically for Clauncher's big claw. Once the water-type knew what had happened, he was unable to move his claw, much less use it for anything. He attempted to fire off a water pulse to break it, but it backfired and defeated him.

"Aaaaaand we have a winner tonight, folks! The winner of the first annual Warren Pokémon Tournament is…SWIRLLLLIX!"

Swirlix immediately floated to her opponent and helped get out the cotton before shaking her defeated opponent's hand. Amidst the cheers from their friends and teammates, Warren approached the fairy type and kneeled down.

"I'm going to take you to get whatever kind of candy you want, got it?" Warren said. Swirlix delighted at the reward, and hugged Warren, accidentally sticking to him.

* * *

The longer the dinner went on, the more nervous Niko seemed to become. The last time he went on a date was with Lauren, and that was after they had established some sort of relationship. That, and the one-off "date" he went on with one of Warren's old classmates from university, but Niko doesn't count that.

Charlotte, on the other hand, seemed completely calm and collected, and Niko had no idea what to make of it.

"Niko, you've been kinda silent. Are you alright?" Charlotte asked.

"Huh? N-no…sorry. I just had a lot on my mind just now."

"Wow, I'm so surprised," she said, sticking out her tongue teasingly. "What's up?"

"Uh, a lot of things…"

"Like…? Unless you don't want to talk about it. That's fine, too!"

"No! I do. It's just…I don't really know how to…say it."

"Then just say what's on your mind. Does it deal with battling?"

"No, but that is always on my mind."

"Does it deal with Venusaur?"

"No."

"Warren?"

"No."

"…me?"

 _Now or never_. "Yeah, you."

"Really? What about me?"

Niko gulped, quickly shoving the last roll on his plate into his mouth so that he had an excuse to consider his new few words, as they would be the most important words he said to Charlotte since they left Castelia City over a year prior.

"I—err—want to get to know you better. Not just who you are, factually speaking, but to know _you_."

"But you know me, right?" Charlotte said. "Or is that not what you mean?"

"No, guess not. I don't know how to explain it…"

"Well, take your time," Charlotte said with a smile. "We're not under any pressure, to leave this place or anything."

"Thanks, Charlotte," Niko said as they got the bill. He and Charlotte both paid their fair share, and got up to leave. "Is there anything else you want to do tonight?"

"Hmm…" she said, looking around. "Maybe we could go to a bar?"

"To drink?" Niko asked. He hadn't been to a bar in a long time.

"No, Niko. We'll go to a bar to train our Pokémon."

"Train our _Pokémon_ to drink?" Niko asked wildly. The thought amused him.

"Oh my how funny would _that_ be?" Charlotte asked. "Imagine it—Quilladin _drunk_."

"Or Clauncher…" Niko said, unable to contain his laughter. "I could see Larvitar completely losing it, too."

"Oh, yeah! Or…my god, what would Smeargle be like?" Charlotte asked. "Oh boy Niko…we're terrible."

"Talking about our Pokémon drunk…yeah, we probably are. But it's funny to think about."

"I could see your Serperior as a responsible drinker, actually. Braviary…not so much."

"Both of those are very accurate," Niko said, looking down at Charlotte with an unusually kind smile. "You know them quite well."

"I've watched them grow up. That's why," Charlotte said before leaning closer. In response, as if it were second nature, Niko put his arm around her, and they continued walking down the street.

"Is this…alright?" Niko asked, in clear reference to his arm around her.

"Yes, Niko. It's just fine," Charlotte said, closing her eyes for a moment while Niko guided them. They were abruptly opened again when Niko shouted across the street.

"Warren?" Niko said aloud, attracting the attention of their mutual companion standing across the street, looking oddly distraught. In front of him was a white, bipedal Pokémon with a red collar and a spot of red below it. It had fluffy pink hair. On top of its head was a red sphere. It had two small, pink feet, a pink face, and a really long red tongue that was only sticking out a couple inches.

"Niko! Oh, Niko…I'm so sorry!" Warren said, motioning both hands towards the strange looking Pokémon. "I just took her out to get some candy, and _this_ happened!"

"What…happened…?" Niko said, turning to the Pokémon. It immediately recognized him and waddled up to hug him, only reaching just above his knees. Fortunately, Charlotte had her pokédex on her that evening:

" _Slurpuff, the Meringue Pokémon. Fairy type. It can distinguish the faintest of scents. It puts its sensitive sense of smell to use by helping pastry chefs in their work_."

"Warren…" Niko said, only slightly concerned, "did Swirlix evolve just now?"

"SLU!" Slurpuff shouted, her long tongue emerging briefly.

"Y-yes…Niko, I'm so—"

"Don't apologize," Niko said, finally smiling. "Back in Coumarine City, I found a Whipped Dream to get her. But I decided against it, thinking that the decision to evolve should rest with her. It clearly did tonight, right?"

"Sure…I did let her choose what sweets she wanted. She immediately gravitated towards the Whipped Dream and, suddenly, began evolving!"

"Well, Slurpuff, guess we'll have to see how much stronger you've gotten tomorrow afternoon!" Niko said excitedly. "Although… _why_ do you only have Slurpuff with you?"

"Oh, that…long story, actually," Warren said, explaining the tournament he held with the Pokémon and who won. Niko's eyebrows raised, and he eventually smiled down at his Pokémon.

"I'm so proud of you, Slurpuff."

"PUFF!"

"Anyway…how was _your_ night?" Warren asked, reminding Niko that his arm was still around Charlotte, only it was more tightly wrapped around her shoulder than before. He looked away, immediately turning a pale pink color. Charlotte, apparently unaware, began talking about their night with Warren as the trio—and Slurpuff—began walking back to the Pokémon Center, the end of an eventful day now upon them.

* * *

Niko was about to head to sleep when he heard something rustling around across the room. It wasn't Warren—he usually slept soundly. It wasn't his Pokémon, as they were all exhausted from their mock tournament.

It was Charlotte, turning on the light to look over at him, Niko, in particular.

"What's up?" he asked.

"Did I wake you up?"

"No, I was just about to go to bed," Niko said, his eyes half-open. "Do you need something?"

"Not really. I just wanted to thank you for tonight. I had fun, even if all we did was get dinner and watch Warren freak out."

"So…a normal night, then?" Niko asked. In response Charlotte laughed quietly. He always liked her laugh.

"Yes, exactly. Anyway, good night Niko," she said before turning out the lights.

"Night, Charlotte," Niko said before turning out his. That night, he went to bed feeling more accomplished than he had felt since leaving Unova.

* * *

 **Author's Note: So I finally ( _FINALLY_ ) made a decision on what Niko's Mom's name would be, since this episode sort of warranted one. I know in the past I haven't really revealed her name, but I plan on going back (when I have the time) and editing episodes with her in them to reflect this decision. **

**Otherwise, I hope you enjoyed reading this episode as much as I enjoyed writing it. It's one of my favorites for this season, and definitely one of my favorites for the series overall. Next time: the Lumiose Gym battle!**


	28. The future is now!

**Episode 28: The future is now!**

"So…this is the Lumiose Gym?" Niko asked as he looked up at the Prism Tower, the central building in Lumiose City and, evidently, also the tallest.

He, Charlotte, and Warren walked into the gym. They entered a long hallway with long glass tubes standing vertically on each side of the hallway and electric sparks running through them, bathing the room in a bright yellow color. On the other end of the hallway was a metallic double door that, upon Niko's approach to it, began to _speak_ in a robotic voice _._

" _Welcome to the Lumiose City Gym. How many badges do you have?_ "

"Four for the each of us," Niko said, turning to Charlotte.

" _Very well. You may enter,_ " the robotic voice said, and the doors opened up to reveal an ordinary battlefield with stands on both sides.

Niko and Charlotte both approached the side of the field they'd be standing on and looked around. For a while, they waited for a gym leader to show up, but no one did. "That's odd…normally they'd be here by now."

Suddenly, the two of them heard panting coming from behind them. Running through the hallway and the double doors was none other than Clemont. The blonde-haired inventor came to a stop just a few feet from them, doubling over and panting.

"I'm…finally…'ere…sorry…for…the…tardiness…" he said before standing up straight.

"Wait, I thought you quit being a gym leader," Niko said.

"I did. But seeing you three—and that Oliver guy—battling convinced me that this is where I belong. I've seen a lot in my rather short life, but rarely do I see trainers with the kind of courage you all have. It reminded me of my old friends. And none of them would want to see me lose sight of who I really am—a gym leader. So…thanks."

Niko's eyes widened a little. There's no way he had that kind of effect on Clemont, one of the smartest men of his time. Nevertheless, he nodded.

"So…which one of you do I battle first? There are two challengers, right?"

"Yep!" Charlotte said excitedly. "And…I'll go first this time. You went first against Ramos, Niko."

"Fair enough. Good luck," Niko said, unsure of whether or not to hug Charlotte, and instead standing there awkwardly for a moment. Clemont, who clearly didn't notice anything, smiled and walked to his end of the field while Niko joined Warren in the stands to watch.

"GO BIG BROTHER!" a high-pitched voice shouted from behind them, in the top of the stands. The two young men turned around to see a woman, roughly their age and with the same blonde hair as Clemont. She wore an orange cardigan over a yellow and black shirt and black leggings. On her shoulder was a tiny orange mouse with black ears and tail. "Oh, HI! You must be the guys who saved the Power Plant. I'm Bonnie, and this Dedenne!"

"Den-ne!" the tiny mouse squeaked.

"Hi, Bonnie. I'm Niko, and this is Warren," Niko replied with a smile and short wave.

A robot was the referee for this match. It was roughly Clemont's height and wore a gray metallic cap with a lightning bolt on the front and a tuft of yellow metal that resembled hair on top. Niko deduced that Clemont created this robot, and roughly in his own image.

" _This will be a three-on-three Pokémon battle between Gym Leader Clemont and Charlotte from Castelia City. Only the challenger may substitute her Pokémon. The winner will be determined when all Pokémon on one side is defeated. You may begin._ "

"Magneton, I choose you!" Clemont shouted, summoning an all-too familiar Pokémon to Niko. The trio of magnets floated in the air, just a few feet above the ground.

"Braixen, I choose you!" Charlotte shouted, summoning the Fox Pokémon. "Use flame charge!"

"Ah, flame charge…Magneton, thunderbolt!" Clemont commanded. While Braixen charged forward, her body lit on fire, the Magnet Pokémon fired off a series of electric shocks towards her, missing on the first two occasions but managing to strike on the third, launching Braixen backwards and onto the ground. "Use electric terrain!"

Suddenly the field illuminated a bright yellow color, and electric sparks randomly surged around them. Charlotte commanded Braixen to use flame charge again, hoping to speed up her partner and dodge virtually all of Clemont's attacks. She knew that some electric types excelled in speed, and wanted to be able to match that.

"Use mirror shot!" Clemont commanded. Magneton fired off a bright beam of energy from between its three magnets. Once more it hit Braixen, knocking her to the ground. "Follow up with thunderbolt!"

"Braixen, block it with psybeam!" Charlotte shouted. Braixen slowly got up and, before she could even pull out her twig to use the attack, was hit by the powered-up thunderbolt, rocketing her backwards and onto the ground. "Braixen!"

The Fox Pokémon slowly got back up a third time, only to collapse onto a single knee and unable to move. She was paralyzed.

"Magneton, thunderbolt!" Clemont shouted. Magneton emitted electric sparks all around it, ready to deal the finishing blow, when Braixen lit on fire once more and, almost as if by magic, managed to shoot forward and hit Magneton directly in the center of its body, launching it backwards. "What!?"

"What…?" Charlotte said, surprised but pleasantly so. However, Magneton was not out for the count just yet. "Alright! Braixen, use flame charge!"

"Thunderbolt!" Clemont shouted. Magneton fired off another bolt of electricity, only for it to be swiftly evaded by Braixen, who leapt into the air, using momentum from flame charge, and spun around to kick Magneton in the side and launch it to the side of the field, opposite Niko and Warren.

" _Magneton is unable to battle, Braixen is the winner! Leader Clemont will send out his next Pokémon_!" the robot—called Clembot—declared.

"Magneton, return. Well done, buddy. You're tough, I'll give you that, Charlotte. Let's see how far you can get. Luxray, you're up!"

"Luxray…Braixen, let's keep going," Charlotte said. "Flame charge again!"

"Wild charge!" Clemont commanded, and both Pokémon fired off towards one another, colliding in the middle of the battlefield and launching Braixen backwards, already damaged from her battle with Magneton. Luxray, nevertheless, winced as well. "Use swift!"

"Psybeam!" Charlotte called out. Braixen pulled out the twig from her fluffy tail and fired off a burst of purple and pink energy at the glowing yellow stars emitting from Luxray's tail. "Now, flame charge again!"

"Discharge!" Clemont commanded. Luxray roared out and, in a fashion similar to Niko's own luxray, released electricity into the air, and in every direction. It quickly enveloped Braixen, breaking through her coat of fire and stopping her onslaught. Braixen crashed face-first into the ground in front of Luxray, unable to move.

" _Braixen is unable to battle, Luxray is the winner_!" Clembot declared. " _Challenger Charlotte will now send out her second Pokémon_!"

"Braixen, return. You did great. Please get some rest," she exchanged pokéballs. "It's time. Larvitar, here's your debut!" she shouted, throwing out a pokéball containing the Rock Skin Pokémon. "Use rock slide!"

"Hmm…Luxray, dodge!" Clemont shouted, clearly trying to find a way around this one. _Never give up…never give up…_ "And use swift!"

Luxray skillfully dodged the falling rocks before spinning around and firing off small yellow stars at Larvitar, who took the hits and began wailing out, clearly perturbed by them.

"Larvitar…" Charlotte said softly. "Don't give up, alright?"

Larvitar turned to Charlotte, a small tear on his face. He knew she was right—why wouldn't she be? Charlotte, in his mind, was never wrong. He nodded and turned back to face the big, bad luxray in front of him.

"Now let's get you a win! Use sandstorm!" she commanded. Larvitar cried out, summoning gusts of sand to appear all around the field. "Now, screech!"

Larvitar opened his mouth and emitted an ear-piercing sound that even made Luxray tremble before running off towards his opponent and tackling the Gleam Eyes Pokémon using the full weight of his body. Luxray fell back a little, stunned from how heavy the tiny Pokémon was.

"Swift!" Clemont shouted. Up close, Luxray spun around, whipping its tail across Larvitar's face as it released glowing yellow stars, and knocking the Rock Skin Pokémon to the ground. "Now, tackle it!"

"Screech!" Charlotte commanded. Larvitar, while getting up, once more emitted an awful sound from his mouth, causing Luxray to cringe again, halting the electric type. "Rock slide!"

"Swift again!" Clemont shouted, clearly unsure of what else to do. Luxray obeyed, shooting the stars out to meet the falling rocks, succeeding in blocking each of them. In the meantime, however, Larvitar cleared the distance between them and tackled Luxray in the side, knocking the Gleam Eyes Pokémon to the ground. "Luxray!"

"Finish off with rock slide!" Charlotte commanded. Larvitar cried out, conjuring nearly a dozen rocks to fall from the sky, all landing on top of Luxray. The Gleam Eyes Pokémon collapsed under the pile of rocks, unable to get back up.

"What…" Clemont said, eyes wide. "One of my strongest Pokémon…"

"Larvitar, we did it!" Charlotte shouted. "You did it! You won a match!"

" _Luxray is unable to battle, Larvitar is the winner_!" Clembot declared.

"Luxray, return," Clemont said, still surprised. _That Larvitar is something else_. "Heliolisk, you're up!" he shouted, summoning a yellow, lizard-like Pokémon onto the field. It had an orange stripe on its tail with a black tip; orange bands with a zigzag pattern on its hind legs; its head was completely black except for its yellow lower-jaw; lastly, there was a orange-frilled color around its neck.

" _Heliolisk, the Generator Pokémon. Electric and normal type. They flare their frills and generate energy. A single Heliolisk can generate sufficient electricity to power a skyscraper._ "

"Larvitar, let's keep going?" Charlotte wondered. The Rock Skin Pokémon nodded, jumping up and down with cheer. "Alright, let's keep it up! Use screech!"

"Heliolisk, use bulldoze!" Clemont commanded. The Generator Pokémon lifted a foot and slammed it back down onto the battlefield, forcing vibrations to erupt around it and move across the field towards Larvitar, who took the hit and was flung into the air from the force of it.

 _Damn…that's a strong Pokémon_ , Charlotte thought. She steeled herself, and commanded Larvitar to use rock slide.

"Break the rocks with parabolic charge!" Clemont commanded. Heliolisk's frills expanded outwards in every direction as it spit out an electric sphere from its mouth. The sphere exploded in midair, sending streams of electricity to the ground, breaking several of the rocks in the process. "Now, bulldoze again!"

"Use rock slide!" Charlotte shouted, unsure of what else to do. Larvitar, not nearly as confused as his trainer, obeyed by commanding several more rocks to fall from the air onto Heliolisk, who skillfully moved out of the way of each attack.

"Dragon tail!" Clemont commanded. Heliolisk's tail began to glow bright green as it leapt into the air and forced itself down on Larvitar and breaking the ground surrounding both of them. A cloud of dust erupted and, in its place, lay a defeated Larvitar.

" _Larvitar is unable to battle, Heliolisk is the winner_!" Clembot declared. " _Challenger Charlotte will now send out her third and final Pokémon_!"

"Larvitar, return. I'm _so_ proud of you!" she said with a half-smile. "Now…who next…" _Not Frillish, or Smeargle. That leaves Sawsbuck and Skiddo…_ "Skiddo, I choose you!"

"Ah, a skiddo. Interesting choice. Heliolisk, let's keep going, then. Use bulldoze!"

"Like with Ramos, let's fight the attack, Skiddo! Run towards Heliolisk and use razor leaf!" Charlotte directed. The Mount Pokémon charged forward, bleating loudly. As he did so, he fired off sharp leaves towards the Generator Pokémon. In response, the latter stomped on the ground, forcing a powerful underground vibration across the battlefield to erupt underneath Skiddo, launching him into the air. "Vine whip!"

"Slap them back with dragon tail!" Clemont commanded. Heliolisk's tail started glowing as it spun around and swatted away the green vines. Skiddo landed on the ground and continued his charge against the Generator Pokémon. "Dragon tail again!"

"Skiddo, dodge and use razor leaf!" Charlotte instructed. Skiddo was unable to evade in time, and took a powerful dragon tail to the side of the face, knocking him to the ground several feet away.

"Bulldoze!"

"Skiddo, get up!" Charlotte shouted as the Mount Pokémon was flung into the air from the attack, landing again on his side. He slowly got bacGk up, but stumbled a few times along the way. "Well done, let's win this!"

"Not so fast! Parabolic charge!" Clemont commanded.

"Oh, no…" Warren said, "that attack heals."

"What!?" Niko asked. His friend nodded gravely. "She's stuck between a rock and a hard place, then. For sure."

"Skiddo, razor leaf before he gets a chance!" Charlotte commanded. Understanding the gravity of the situation, Skiddo steeled himself and fired off a torrent of leaves at his opponent. Heliolisk took the attack and stumbled back, its attack interrupted. "Now's our chance! Use leech seed!"

"Heliolisk, bulldoze!" Clemont commanded. The Generator Pokémon stomped the ground again, causing a vibration under the battlefield just as it got enveloped by the vines from the leech seed, sapping its strength. "Dragon tail to break the vines!"

"Use vine whip on the tail, Skiddo!" Charlotte commanded. Skiddo unleashed twin green vines that wrapped themselves around the bright green glowing tail, halting the advance. "Dig in, Skiddo! Don't give up!"

 _Don't give up…_ "Heliolisk, use thunderbolt!"

"Razor leaf, now!" Charlotte commanded. Skiddo, while still holding onto Heliolisk's tail. "Don't. Stop! SKIDDO!"

Skiddo continued firing off attacks, striking Heliolisk with leaf after leaf after leaf. The Generator Pokémon flinched from each one until it collapsed to the ground. Skiddo then let go, and it collapsed onto its knees and then face-first onto the ground.

" _Heliolisk is unable to battle, Skiddo is the winner! The victory goes to Charlotte from Castelia City_!" Clembot declared.

Charlotte got onto her knees as Skiddo turned and charged towards his trainer, bleating proudly as he did so. The two quickly embraced, Charlotte gently patting his head and leafy mane.

Soon enough, Clemont turned to leave the room, presumably to heal his Pokémon. Meanwhile, Niko joined Charlotte on the battlefield. As she stood back up, he looked down at her and Skiddo and side-hugged the former while petting the latter.

"Well done, buddy," he said with a kind smile.

"Thanks, Niko. Good luck to you," she said, leaning in and returning the hug.

Minutes later Clemont returned, loosening his yellow and light blue tie a little. Charlotte left the field while Clembot began to explain the rules of the match once again. As they did so, Niko prepared a pokéball of his first choice. Knowing what Clemont had, he tried to come up with the best possible choice.

"Magneton, I choose you!" Clemont commanded.

"Quilladin, you're up!" Niko shouted. "Use vine whip!"

"Magneton, thunderbolt!" The gym leader directed. The trio of magnets spun around and, emitting a low buzzing sound, conjured a bolt of electricity targeted at the Spiny Armor Pokémon, who rolled out of the way and whipped out two vines to slap across the face of the Magnet Pokémon. "Mirror shot!"

"Quilladin, rollout!" Niko shouted. Quilladin responded by leaping into a ball and rolling across the field, dodging thunderbolt from left and right before leaping into the air and tackling Magneton. Both Pokémon rolled through the air before Quilladin hit the ground hard and scrambled back up to fire off a pin missile at Magneton, who took the hit due to an inability to fight back, reeling from the tackle from rollout. "Again!"

"Electric terrain!" Clemont commanded. Magneton fired off electricity in every direction, similar to using discharge, but instead the field illuminated in a clear yellow glow. "Now, thunderbolt again!"

"Quilladin, rollout!" Niko commanded. The Spiny Armor Pokémon broke into another ball, a swirling mass of green and brown running across the field until it got hit by a successful thunderbolt, launching him backwards towards Clemont.

"Mirror shot!" Clemont commanded.

"Quilladin, rollout!" Niko shouted, knowing that the attack might succeed in evading the attack. Quilladin missed the attack, but spun back around and attempted a second attack while gaining speed. "Keep it up, you can do it!" he called out. Quilladin continued rolling around the field, almost aimlessly, while Magneton attempted to strike it down with a variety of attacks—thunderbolt, mirror shot, even flash cannon, all missed while Quilladin continued to roll around.

Clemont put his hand to his chin to stroke it, clearly thinking about what to do next. He took a deep breath and commanded Magneton to use thunderbolt in the air. What this did was, in the electric terrain, increase the size and intensity of the electric attack that struck Quilladin and launched him into the air.

"Use vine whip and grab onto Magneton!" Niko commanded.

"Block it with thunderbolt!" Clemont shouted. Both of Quilladin's vines were hit, sending electric shocks through them and into his body, forcing the Spiny Armor Pokémon to crash into the ground. "Now, flash cannon!"

"Rollout, Quilladin!" Niko directed. Quilladin quickly got back up and attempted to break into a rollout and charged at Magneton, running through the flash cannon and hitting the Magnet Pokémon square in the center of its body with enough force to split the trio of magnets up. Quilladin crashed into the ground just as the magnets fell to the floor as well before reassembling once more. Niko held his breath—this battle was already harder than he had imagined.

" _Magneton…and Quilladin are both unable to battle_!" Clembot declared. " _Both trainers will not send out their second Pokémon_!"

"Luxray, you're up!" Clemont shouted, summoning the Gleam Eyes Pokémon.

"Amaura, I choose you!" Niko called out. "Use hail!"

The Tundra Pokémon quickly whipped up a snowstorm, eliminating the electric terrain created by Magneton and causing Niko, Clemont, and Luxray to shiver.

"Use discharge!" Clemont commanded. The Gleam Eyes Pokémon roared out loud as it released as much electricity as it possibly could, ripping through the hail and striking at the Tundra Pokémon, forcing her to collapse onto her side.

"Amaura!" Niko shouted. "Don't give up, you can do this!" _This is what happens when I can't train her, I guess. She's out of shape._ "Use aurora beam!"

While on her side, Amaura looked up and fired off a rainbow-color beam of energy at Luxray, successfully striking the large cat-like creature. This gave Amaura time to get back up, albeit slowly, and re-position herself to take on Luxray.

"Luxray, wild charge!" Clemont shouted.

"Block it with rock throw!" Niko shouted. Luxray's body lit up in a glowing yellow light as it charged forward, ultimately hitting Amaura and knocking her backwards. The Tundra Pokémon grit her teeth as she felt electricity surging through her body. "You can do this, Amaura. I believe in you. Use aurora beam!"

"AU-RAAAA!" she shouted, firing a close-range aurora beam at Luxray, which pushed the Gleam Eyes Pokémon backwards. She then conjured several rocks and threw them at Luxray, each striking the electric type with a fury Niko hadn't seen from his fossilized Pokémon.

"Great job! Keep it up!" Niko shouted excitedly. "You can do it!"

"Luxray, use discharge!" Clemont commanded. Once more, the Gleam Eyes Pokémon lit up the field with a powerful release of electricity in every direction, striking Amaura and forcing her to collapse on her side, this time unable to get back up.

" _Amaura is unable to battle, Luxray is the winner_!" Clembot declared. " _Challenger Niko will now send out his third and final Pokémon_!"

"Amaura, return," Niko said, "we'll work harder next time, I promise you that. Slurpuff, you're up!" he shouted, throwing out a pokéball containing the Meringue Pokémon, who had evolved just the night previously. "Use cotton spore!"

"Discharge again, Luxray!" Clemont commanded. The released electricity blew up the cotton spores floating towards Luxray, and hit Slurpuff in the process. "Wild charge!"

"Wait for it, buddy…" Niko said quietly, loud enough that his Pokémon could hear him. When Luxray got within striking distance, he shouted "dazzling gleam!"

A bright white-pink light erupted from the Meringue Pokémon, blinding Luxray and halting its advance. Slurpuff then released more cotton spores aimed at the Gleam Eyes Pokémon's feet, forcing it to stick to the ground.

"Discharge!" Clemont commanded. Slurpuff retaliated with fairy wind to repel the attack, only to cause an explosion in the space between them.

"Dazzling gleam again!" Niko shouted, thrusting his arms out wide. Slurpuff did the same and released another blinding light, hitting Luxray a second time. Meanwhile, Clemont was directing Luxray to use wild charge as a means of escaping the cotton spore. It succeeded, and slammed into Slurpuff, who repelled Luxray with fairy wind, knocking them both to the ground. "Cotton spore again!"

"Not this time! Wild charge!" Clemont commanded, and Luxray made a mad dash towards its opponent, who blasted Luxray with dazzling gleam, launching the Gleam Eyes Pokémon high into the air before it crashed down on the ground in defeat.

" _Luxray is unable to battle, Slurpuff is the winner! Leader Clemont will use his third and final Pokémon_!" Clembot declared.

"Luxray, return. Well done," he looked up at Niko. "This Luxray has seen a lot of battles in its life. I'm glad your Slurpuff was one of them. Heliolisk, you're up!" Clemont shouted, summoning the Generator Pokémon again. "Use parabolic charge!"

"Surround yourself with cotton spore!" Niko shouted. Slurpuff nodded, smirking at the innovation of the idea and surrounding herself in her own sticky cotton to create a coat of armor around herself. "Now, dazzling gleam!"

Slurpuff ran into the thundering battlefield and unleashed the sparking light everywhere, illuminating the area around her and blinding Heliolisk. Clemont then commanded the Generator Pokémon to use bulldoze, to which Slurpuff leapt into the air using fairy wind on the ground. She floated through the air before landing just over Heliolisk.

"PARABOLIC CHARGE!" Clemont commanded. Heliolisk fired off a sphere of electricity into the air, directly at Slurpuff, who used fairy wind to propel herself further into the air, causing the parabolic charge to explode prematurely and miss her entirely.

"Cotton spore!" Niko shouted. While descending to the ground, Slurpuff threw out small cotton balls below her, hitting Heliolisk directly in the face. As she landed, Slurpuff emitted a dazzling gleam followed by fairy wind, which launched the Generator Pokémon backwards. Heliolisk rolled backwards before struggling to get back up. Once he did, he stared up at Slurpuff, who was glaring back, also breathing heavily from the mere exhaustion of using so many moves in quick succession. "Don't give up…"

"…Heliolisk," Clemont said. "Remember, that's not what he did. That's not what we're about to do, either."

Heliolisk nodded, fully understanding what its trainer was referring to. Clemont then commanded the Generator Pokémon to use bulldoze and, with a single stomp, ripped up the field in front of it before striking Slurpuff and knocking it off of its feet.

"Now, parabolic charge!" Clemont commanded. Heliolisk fired off another electrical sphere into the air. As it exploded, streaming thunderbolts towards the ground. Slurpuff used a combination of her cotton-spore armor and fairy wind to repel any thunderbolts aimed at her. Then, on Niko's command, she used dazzling gleam once more, knocking Heliolisk to the ground once more.

Niko waited, his breathing heavy. Slurpuff was the same. Both were anxious regarding what would happen next.

Eventually, Heliolisk collapsed on its back, unable to battle.

" _Heliolisk is unable to battle, Slurpuff is the winner! The victory goes to Niko from Pallet Town_!" Clembot declared.

Niko breathed a sigh of relief. He and Slurpuff did it. They got another badge.

"Return, Heliolisk. You did great. I'm proud of you," Clemont said as he looked up at Niko, who was hugging Slurpuff. _You're an interesting trainer, Niko._ He walked across the length of the field, where Charlotte and Warren were now joining their victorious friend on the field. "You two are something else, that's for sure. I rarely get battles that are as challenging. Luxray vs. Larvitar…Magneton vs. Quilladin…it's been a while."

"You haven't had battles that exciting since, well," Bonnie said as she jumped over the stands and landed gracefully on the ground.

"I know, Bonnie. It's been a while. Think he'd be proud?"

"Think so! You should tell him about today!" Bonnie said excitedly.

"I just might. Later, though," Clemont turned to Niko and Charlotte. "Congrats on your victories. I needed these, and for that I thank you. Thank you for giving me a reason to fight again, and give my life more meaning than just science. Here," he said, pulling out two yellow and gold badges from his pocket. "I envisioned that, in the event you defeated me, I should have these badges handy to prove that you won today. The Voltage Badge."

Niko and Charlotte each took the badges and looked at them. They were in the shape of a shield with lightning bolts streaming out of it.

"Thanks for the battle, Clemont. I'm glad we could help get you back into battling again," Niko said.

"Do you have any suggestions on where to go next?" Charlotte asked.

"Hmm…Laverre City is the closest city from here. Maybe less than a week away, I'd say," Clemont turned to Bonnie for confirmation. The small blonde nodded cheerfully. Dedenne squealed as well. "The gym leader there is a kind young woman. She's tough, though—don't underestimate her."

Niko and Charlotte both nodded and, with Warren, left the gym. As they exited through the metallic double doors, Clemont pushed up his glasses in amazement.

"They're worth watching, don't you think?" Clemont asked his sister.

"Yup! Especially if they end up qualifying for the Kalos League. Think one of them could win?"

"It's…possible. But you would know that better than I would, so you tell me."

"I think they could. But they still have a long way to go before they're ready. There's potential in them, that's for sure."

"I couldn't agree more, sis."

* * *

 **Author's Note: I hope y'all had a great New Year! Here's to hoping 2018 will be better than 2017! Anyways, enjoy this episode!**


	29. Fright and fight

**Episode 29: Fright and fight**

 _"It was a dark and stormy night many years ago. Lost, I arrived at this house and went inside. The lights would not turn on, so I fearfully looked around the house. Eventually, I made my way into the kitchen. There was no sign of anyone being there... I found the fridge, and when I opened it, a faint light leaked out. I could finally make out my surroundings. And I saw the faint outline of a man huddling in the corner of the room. I tried to tell him that I was lost, and I was hoping he'd let me stay until morning, but when I approached him... The man suddenly screamed, "Stay back!" I apologized and continued to plead my case. "Please, can't you help me?" "I'm not talking to you!" he shouted. I looked at the man in surprise. When I did this, the man asked me... "Can't you see them? Behind you!"_

 _"A horde of faceless men!""_

Charlotte shivered as she listened to Warren read from her Kalos guidebook. It was sunset, and they were telling the tale associated with a haunted house supposedly nearby. She looked over to the log next to her. Niko was not sitting there, but instead sitting _behind_ the log, crouched in a fetal position. Seeing this, Charlotte started to laugh out loud, seeming to forget her fright.

"You scared buddy?" Warren sked Niko as he put down the guidebook.

"N-no…" Niko said. "I-I'm alright."

He got up, wiped any dust and dirt off of his clothes, and sat back down on the log, his back straight. To this, Warren and Charlotte both laughed once more, this time louder.

After their victory in Lumiose City, Niko and Charlotte began their trek towards Laverre City for their sixth badge. According to Clemont and Bonnie, the trip would take roughly less than a week, and along the main road of route 14.

Route 14 was different than most of the other places they had ventured through. For one, it was damper. The weather was consistently rainy, with the exception of a few select evenings. For the first few days, they walked through fields of grass and lush forests. By the time they were telling the scary story, however, the environment was more swamp-like.

During this time Niko and Charlotte continued their training. Only Amaura was disappointed in her performance against Clemont, and put in more effort than she usually did, oftentimes strengthening her hail attack and nearly giving Niko a cold. Otherwise, the Pokémon seemed content with themselves, but nevertheless worked harder than usual.

They were also trying to learn new moves. Frillish was working on hex—with the help of Smeargle; Fletchinder was practicing razor wind; and Clauncher was working on crabhammer, which wasn't dissimilar to the move vice grip, and the Water Gun Pokémon seemed to catch onto it rather quickly. It also inspired Niko to look up other "pulse" moves to teach him.

Throughout this journey to Laverre City, a couple of things remained on Niko's mind. One was Charlotte. Their first "date" in Lumiose City left him more confused, not less. What were they? Where did they stand? How did _he_ feel about her? Niko felt good around her, to be sure. He enjoyed Charlotte's company more than he might be wont to admit. But he felt something holding him back, and couldn't quite explain what it was.

Another thought kept creeping into his mind, ever since he failed at mastering mega evolution. He would eventually qualify for the Kalos League. Having placed second in the Vertress Conference was starting to weigh on him. For one thing, it was clear that it hadn't gone unnoticed here in Kalos—gym leaders saw it, and held him to a high standard when observing his battles. What if he got a similar treatment at the Kalos League? Would he be held to a higher standard there? Would he be expected to at least place second again?

Niko was unsure if he could meet those standards. If he was really a strong, knowledgeable trainer, as his friends liked to remind him of, then shouldn't he be doing better in his gym battles? He should be sweeping some of these gym leaders instead of barely etching out a win. He figured that part of the reason for this is he isn't using his other Pokémon from Pallet Town. Had he included Venusaur or Feraligatr in these matches, he might walk away with all eight badges with no major problems. However, that wasn't the case. _Maybe_ , he thought, _it's a good thing that I'm struggling, or not doing as well as I should be. Maybe the power doesn't just rest in me, but resides primarily in my Pokémon's ability to fight. To say otherwise would be selfish_ … _right_?

Niko could tell Charlotte was deep in her own thoughts, too, but he had no idea what they might be about. Was she thinking the same things he was?

That evening, after telling the scary story, Niko was laying down on his sleeping bag. It wasn't terribly cold outside—only a light breeze—and he didn't feel like sleeping. Instead, he stared up at the unusually clear sky—unusual for their environment, that is.

He then heard some rustling nearby. Sitting up on his side, he saw Charlotte sitting there, reading her guidebook. She didn't notice him, and so for several minutes he lay there watching her, noticing the thin brown hair falling down to her shoulders, barely resting on her forest green buttoned shirt; her hazel eyes glancing at the words in front of her and the fire glistening in the glazy reflection of her irises; her thin fingers running between two pages, splitting them apart, and turning one of them over to read the other side. For whatever reason, it was mesmerizing.

Then Niko closed his eyes and feel asleep.

* * *

The following day consisted of more walking, this time through the bog that seemed to characterize route 14. That day, Charlotte's Skiddo was walking beside them, carrying the cargo that they didn't want to hold.

After lunch, the trio got ready to continue on when Skiddo had difficulty getting back up. Noticing this, Charlotte turned around and kneeled down next to her Pokémon.

"Are you okay buddy?" she asked softly. Skiddo coughed a little before nodding and attempting to get back up. "No no, you're not feeling well. Let's wait," she said, turning to her companions.

"Of course," Niko said. Warren nodded as well.

The three of them split up to help Skiddo. Charlotte stayed with the Mount Pokémon while Niko got some warm water and Warren got some berries he figured might help. Once the three reunited, they placed a towel of hot water on the goat Pokémon's forehead and fed it crushed-up berries, waiting eagerly for the Pokémon to excitedly jump up, ready to continue venturing on.

Except Skiddo wasn't getting up. He wasn't even feeling better. Sighing, the trio sat back down to continue observing the small grass Pokémon, hoping for a light bulb to suddenly go off in their heads. But nothing came to mind, and Skiddo certainly wasn't getting any better. After hours of continuously feeding the Mount Pokémon water and crushed berries, Charlotte let out a loud sigh of frustration as she sat back on her hands. Niko could briefly see the glimmer of a tear under her eyelid.

Instinctively, he scooted over to her and wrapped his arm around her. Meanwhile, Warren pulled out the guidebook, clearly looking for something. Minutes later, he shook his head. "I was looking for a Pokémon Center, but doesn't seem like there's one nearby. The closest is a couple hours away."

"We can do it, right?" Niko asked, letting go of Charlotte and looking at the guidebook, but Warren was right. It was too far away. He turned back to Charlotte, who sat with her arms wrapped around her knees, trying not to cry. "There has to be something—"

"Clearly, there isn't Niko!" Charlotte snapped angrily.

"Charlotte, don't be—"

"Cynical? I'm not! I'm just saying that there isn't anything around here that can help Skiddo!" Charlotte said, looking down at the Mount Pokémon, who was breathing heavily. "I don't know what to do, and it scares me!"

"How about this—Warren and I go in search of help, alright? We can leave some Pokémon here to keep you company, if you'd like?"

"No. I've got my own, Niko," Charlotte said, looking away.

"Fair enough. We'll be back," Niko said, turning to Warren, who nodded. Both of them got up and ran off to the north in search of someone—anyone—who could help them out.

Meanwhile, Charlotte sat there in worry. She was scared. Scared not just for herself, but for her Pokémon. "I don't know enough…" she muttered to herself. "I don't know enough, and I'm not strong enough," she said as she winced, tears squeezing out from between her eyelids. "I can't be strong enough for me _and_ my partners! What's wrong with me…"

Suddenly, she heard something moving around in the trees above her. She immediately got up, instinctively reaching for a pokéball. Something quickly caught her eye—a rapid green flash across the branches of the trees surrounding her. Next to her, Skiddo bleated weakly. Charlotte was not about to let anyone hurt her Pokémon.

Then, from behind, a massive green Pokémon descended from the trees. It's head resembled a venus fly trap. It had wide white eyes with small black pupils, and a collection of spiky teeth running along the inside of its enormous mouth. Its stem was yellow with green spots, and red and green vines beneath that gave the appearance of tentacles. It had two arms that resembled leaves with three leafy "fingers" on each.

"Frillish, I choose you!" Charlotte shouted. "Use ominous wind!"

"FRIIIIIL!" Frillish shouted, conjuring a black and purple ball that she threw at the strange Pokémon, who responded by whipping up a leaf tornado from the vines attached to its stem. Frillish was blown backwards, and nearly hit Charlotte on accident, instead landing in front of Skiddo and struggling to get back up.

Charlotte grit her teeth, and prepared to pull out a second pokéball when Frillish held up a tentacle and sternly nodded to her trainer, as if to say, "I've got this."

"Alright Frillish, let's go," she said. "Use ominous wind!"

The Pokémon fired off another leaf tornado to block the strange, eerie wind. Both Pokémon were flung backwards this time. In response, the green Pokémon shouted out, summoning two more—one on each side. All three of them opened their mouths up and threw themselves at Charlotte.

Here, Frillish attempted to get up, but couldn't—she was too weak and too far. Yet, oddly enough, a Pokémon did get in front of Charlotte. It was Skiddo.

"Skiddo, no!" she shouted as the three Pokémon flung themselves on the Mount Pokémon, who was teetering aggressively, trying to stay upright. Just then, a bright white light illuminated the area. Skiddo began to grow, much larger than he was before, into the now-familiar Gogoat. Weakly, Gogoat's horns began to glow bright green as he fired off glowing green seeds from his mouth. Each one landed in the fly-trap Pokémon's mouths and exploded on contact. Terrified and damaged, they had left, but not before Charlotte pulled out her pokédex:

" _Carnivine, the Bug Catcher Pokémon. Grass type. It attracts prey with its sweet-smelling saliva, then chomps down. It takes a whole day to eat prey_."

Just as the Carnivine left, Gogoat collapsed back on the ground, clearly over exhausted. Charlotte knelt down and patted him on the horn.

"Thank you, Gogoat. I'm…so proud of you."

Gogoat nodded, a sly smile etched on his face, as if he could feel Charlotte's emotions. He then closed his eyes and fell asleep. Worried, Charlotte checked to see if he was breathing. He was, albeit slowly.

Just then, Fletchinder appeared from above the trees, crying down to Charlotte, Gogoat, and Frillish, who had just gotten back up. Charlotte returned Gogoat and followed Fletchinder through the forest they were in until she saw a cabin nearby, and Warren and Niko waving to her. She felt a rush of relief and excitement as she ran to her friends, Frillish eagerly trailing behind.

"We found a doctor out here. He's retired, and hasn't practiced medicine in years, but he said he can look at Skiddo and—" Niko said before Charlotte interjected.

"Gogoat."

"What?"

"Skiddo evolved into Gogoat just now. He's not feeling any better, but he saved me from three Carnivine that tried to attack us and Frillish," Charlotte explained.

"Oh," Niko said, his eyes widened in surprise. He wasn't quite sure what to say in response. Not waiting on him, Charlotte ran inside to see an elderly, bearded man setting up a small bed on the wooden floor of the cabin.

"Ah, you must be Charlotte. May I see your Pokémon?" he said in a kind, but raspy, voice while holding his hand out. Charlotte gave him Gogoat's pokéball, and he immediately opened it to reveal the large goat-like creature. "Your friends said he was a Skiddo…"

"He just evolved, actually," Charlotte said. "Can you help him?"

"Yes, of course. I know just the thing," the doctor said. While he fixed up a small, pink liquid in a cup, Charlotte reflected on the fortuitous ending to their day. Not only did Skiddo evolve—out of nowhere—but her friends also managed to find a doctor that could help him with his illness. Things had gone from bleak to fortunate rather fast.

"Thanks, Niko, Warren," Charlotte said as she hugged the both of them. "I…really appreciate it."

"No problem, Charlotte. We stick together, through anything," Warren said as he held his arm around her. Niko did the same, glad to see his friend feeling better.

"And Niko…I'm sorry for snapping at you today," Charlotte said, looking down at the ground. "I was just…"

"Overwhelmed. Scared. I get it," Niko said, looking at the side of Charlotte's face. He couldn't help but smile at her. "But everything is alright now, and that's what matters."

Charlotte nodded. Minutes later, Gogoat slowly got back up, looking healthier than he was before. He no longer had a red-tinted face, and he wasn't wobbling as he stood up. Immediately, he ran over to Charlotte and nuzzled his face against hers, as he was now taller than she was. Another tear ran down Charlotte's cheek.

"I'm grateful to have friends like you, and Pokémon like _you_ ," Charlotte said, looking Gogoat straight in the eyes. "You make me proud every day."

Gogoat nodded, as if he either agreed with his trainer, or felt the same way. Regardless, the trio thanked the doctor for their help before leaving. Entering the dense, damp forest once more, the three trainers felt much better about their relationships with each other, and with their Pokémon.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Maybe not my best episode, but it does have it's moments. Skiddo's evolution was difficult to write in particular, but I think I made everything run smoothly enough. Hopefully you all enjoyed it, too.**


	30. The Pokéball Factory

**Episode 30: The Pokéball Factory**

Nestled in a forest in the northern reaches of the Kalos region, Laverre City was built around an ancient tree dated to be 1,500 years old. The tree, Niko and his friends discovered, was the home to their next destination—the Laverre City Gym. It was a house built in the pagoda style, like many of the houses surrounding it in the town.

However, when Niko, Charlotte, and Warren approached the gym's entrance. They stood marveling at the front entrance before Charlotte noticed that the front door was locked. Confused, she turned to look at her friends, who both shrugged in shared puzzlement.

"Maybe the gym leader isn't around today?" Niko said. "In that case, let's go check out some of the other things the city has to offer."

"I'd at least like to know why they're gone, though," Charlotte said in a dismayed tone. After Gogoat evolved and saved her life, and after she in turn saved his, Charlotte had a better outlook on life. She felt more confident, and more hopeful about the future. In the previous day or so, she spent an inordinate amount of time training, hoping to get her Pokémon in tip-top shape for their upcoming gym battle in Laverre City.

"We can ask around. Sound good?" Niko suggested. Charlotte nodded, realizing that this was the only reasonable option they had. As they walked through the city, Charlotte looked through her guidebook for tourist suggestions.

"Woah. Guys…there's the Pokéball Factory up north. About a half day's walk," Charlotte said, her eyes wide open.

"A…Pokéball factory…?" Niko asked curiously. "I've never been to one of those. Wanna check it out?"

"Of course!" Charlotte exclaimed. "It sounds like the type of place we _should_ go to!" she leaned in close to Niko and whispered, "Maybe they'll give us a free master ball."

"Pfft, they wouldn't do that," Niko said with a laugh.

"You never know!" Charlotte said, closing her guidebook. "Anyway, it's north, so we should probably turn around, y'think?"

* * *

The trip to the Pokéball Factory took, as Charlotte estimated, roughly half a day's walk. By the time they got there, it was late afternoon, and the sun was lower in the sky, resting just above the factory. The front entrance was a long, paved walkway decorated with pokéball statues. On the other side of the black-bar gate was the massive factory several stories tall. It reminded Niko of Silph Co. in the Kanto region, but not nearly as tall and several times as wide.

As they approached the gate, they noticed a blonde-haired kid looking up at it as well. Hearing footsteps, he turned around and smiled while waving to them. It was Ian, of all people.

"Hey guys! Come to check out the Pokéball Factory too?" he asked.

"Yeah, the Laverre Gym is closed today, for whatever reason," Niko said, "and so we decided to check it out."

"Oh, yeah I caught that notice too. You see, the gym leader is supposedly out of town on some sort of 'fashion tour.' She's a famous fashion designer, apparently," Ian replied. "So, you're here to challenger Valerie, then? How many badges do you both have?"

"Five each," Charlotte answered. She didn't like Ian nearly as much as Niko—the former had defeated her in a battle during their last encounter in Geosenge Town, and it tainted her opinion of him since. "You?"

"Five as well. Just beat Valerie, actually, before she left on her trip," Ian said, pulling out his badge case to display his badges. There were Korrina's, Ramos', Grant's, and supposedly Valerie's as well, sitting next to Clemont's. "Just need three more and I can qualify for the Kalos League! I'm off to Anistar City after this to get my sixth."

"What's Valerie like?" Niko wondered, as he knew next to nothing about his future opponent."

"Fairy types. That's all you need to know. Should be new for you, Niko—you've probably never battled a fairy type specialist before."

"Can't say I have. And neither have you, if memory serves," Niko said with a smirk.

"Nope, but she wasn't too bad. Raichu's iron tail did more damage to her Pokémon than either I or Valerie had thought. Overall it was a pretty easy battle."

"I bet it'll be easy for me, too," Charlotte said, staring directly at Ian. He noticed this, and smiled sympathetically.

"Are you mad at me for beating you in Geosenge Town?" he asked. Charlotte, not expecting this response, opened her eyes wide and nodded with surprise. "Well, I'm sorry if it ruined your opinion of me. Really am."

"It didn't but, I just don't like losing I guess," Charlotte said, "and neither does my Larvitar."

"Yeah, you and Niko seem to have that in common," Ian said with a casual nudge towards his other rival. "How's Larvitar doing, by the way?"

"Great, actually. Just won a match during our battle with Clemont. It was his first time," Charlotte said, sounding more excited now. She loved her Larvitar, and relished at the chance to talk about him and his progress in battle.

"Oh, well done!" Ian said excitedly. "Wait… _Clemont_ battled you?"

"Yeah…yeah, he did!" Charlotte said, remembering that Ian hadn't gotten a chance to, since Clemont recently returned to his gym.

"Lucky you. I got to battle Clembot. For whatever reason, Clemont had quit taking challengers himself, and retreated to the Power Plant. How was it? Battling him? Meeting him?"

"He's actually really nice," Niko said, "and wiser than you'd think, given his age."

"Well, he is a genius, after all," Ian said with a wide grin. He then turned back to look at the Pokéball Factory. "I wonder if this place is closed, too. I really wanted to check it out. Pokéball technology has always astounded me."

"Really? Didn't peg you as the type interested in technology," Niko said, "you just seemed interested in battling."

"Oh, that too. But I want to start a career in programming. I had hoped to have a conversation with Clemont about it, but his sister said he moved into the Kalos Power Plant, where he has been for some time. Until he battled you two, apparently."

Just as he finished speaking, Ian turned back towards the gate as it was slowly opening, each side of the gate moving in opposite directions. It eventually revealed the pathway into the factory, leaving a surprised Ian standing in its wake.

"Huh…well, shall we?" he asked. Niko, Charlotte, and Warren all entered through the gate with their friend and rival, who happily walked down the paved road to the front door. As they walked closer to the building, Niko noticed someone on the roof of it, but he couldn't tell who they were, or what business they had being on that roof.

When they first entered the building, they saw a welcome desk to their right, and a lobby to their left. Directly in front of them were two doors—one sign that said "restricted," and the other had no sign at all. Turning to the welcome desk, they noticed a short woman with light gray hair sitting there with a pleasant smile on her face.

"Welcome to the Pokéball Factory, how may I help you?" she asked.

"Hi, we're here for a tour," Ian said politely.

"Do you have a reservation?"

"Err…no. No, we don't. Is that fine?"

"Oh, why yes, it is young man! We just ask for reservations in the event it's a large group, like a school class. But the four of you would do just fine without one!" she said, typing something into the computer to her left and quickly printing something out in the corner of the room. She stood up, grabbed the printed paper, and handed it to Ian. "Here is your 'ticket.' A tour guide will see you shortly."

"Thank you," Ian said with a slight bow before walking over to the lobby couches where Niko and his friends were sitting. While they waited, Ian caught up with the group, explaining some of his own adventures. His Goomy just evolved on their way to Laverre City into a Pokémon called Sliggoo. "It's certainly a weird looking Pokémon, but I love it," he smiled, "I think it'll help me out a lot during the Kalos League."

"You think so?" Niko said.

"Yeah, once a runner-up used a Goodra—Sliggoo's evolved form—on his team. That must mean something, right?"

"I suppose so," Niko said, wondering if he should try and catch one, too. Having a dragon type of his team wouldn't be a bad thing—it would even give his Druddigon a friend to play with.

They were just then called up—a dark-haired man in a red polo shirt and khaki pants walked out from the unrestricted door with a small pad of paper in his hand and declared Ian's name out loud. The young trainer frantically got up and sped-walked over to their tour guide, who's name was Sam. "Hi guys! I'll be your tour guide at the Pokéball Factory today. Follow me this way, please."

He then led them through the unrestricted room and onto a metal catwalk with rails on both sides. On one side of them was a collection of long, yellow arms reaching down from the ceiling to perform a variety of different tasks. One of them was piecing the pokéballs together; another was coloring the pokéballs red and white; and a third one might've been working on a different type of pokéball altogether.

During this trip down the catwalk, which turned sharply to the left so the group could see more of them, Sam went on explaining the history of the Pokéball Factory, its purpose, who it distributes to, and other miscellaneous facts that he could come up with.

"Has this particular factory been responsible for developing any new types of pokéballs?" Charlotte asked curiously.

Sam place a finger on his chin, clearly expressing deep thought at this question. He eventually shook his head. "No, not this particular branch. But the most recent pokéball to be developed, to my knowledge, was the 'beast ball' created in Alola and distributed exclusively there. Don't ask me what that kind of pokéball does, because I'm not very aware of that part of the world. Any other questions?"

"Sure: how many pokéballs do you produce on any given day?" Ian asked.

"About a thousand. This includes all types of pokéballs," Sam replied matter-of-factly.

"What is _your_ favorite type of pokéball?"

"Oh, that'd have to be the luxury ball, easily," Sam said, pointing down to a particular arm creating a gold and black pokéball. "Supposedly those are very comfortable pokéballs to live in, according to Pokémon familiar with them."

Just then they all heard glass breaking in the distance. Sam turned to his left to see a pair of men dropping in from the ceiling. They were dressed in all black clothes, wore leather jackets, and had black beanies on. They, essentially, looked like garden-variety thieves.

"Excuse me! EXCUSE ME!" Sam shouted. "What are you doing here?"

"Oi mate, we're here to steal ya pokéballs," one of them said in a thick accent. "Give 'em up or we'll rough ya up real good."

"Like hell you will," Ian said, withdrawing a pokéball of his own. "Sliggoo, you're up!"

"Quilladin, let's go!" Niko shouted.

"Frillish!" Charlotte yelled out, summoning the pink Floating Pokémon. In return, the two men summoned golbats, each commanding them to use air cutter. "Hex!"

"Pin missile!" Niko called out.

"Sliggoo, use dragon pulse!" Ian commanded. All three attacks struck the golbats before their attacks could fire off. An explosion erupted around them, knocking the golbats and the supposed thieves to the ground behind them. One was smoke settled from the impact of the group's attacks, one of the thieves was knocked unconscious, and the other was frantically trying to pick him up and return his defeated golbat.

"We gotta go, bro!" he shouted, shaking his partner to wake him up. As he tried picking up his partner—with the useless help from their golbats—Sam called on the authorities, and minutes later an Officer Jenny was storming down the catwalk from another room near the thieves and handcuffing both of them—even the unconscious one, oddly enough.

While the authorities were dealing with the thieves, Sam turned to his tour and smiled weakly. "Shall we continue?"

* * *

The tour finished around sunset, with Sam thanking the four trainers for their help in stopping the two thieves, noting that this was an unnecessarily common problem that the factory deals with.

"But seriously, I do appreciate it. It's not often that I get help in defending this place," he shook his head, "I cannot express to you how often this happens. I keep saying we have to hire more security, but the damn CEO doesn't want to shell out the money to pay for it…" Sam then placed a fist in front of him and began breathing steadily, trying to calm himself. "Anyway, best of luck on your journeys. I hope you learned something new today."

"We did, kinda," Niko said, turning to Ian.

"Oh! That reminds me," Sam said, reaching into his pocket. "The woman at the front desk wanted me to give you these—commemorative gifts from us," he held out four pokéballs—an ultra ball, a heal ball, a fast ball, and a luxury ball. "One for each of you."

Ian immediately took the ultra ball, noting that he already owned a luxury ball. Warren took the heal ball, and Charlotte the fast ball, which left Niko with the luxury ball.

"Why didn't you want the luxury ball?" Niko asked.

"I figured a fast ball might be more practical," she said, eying the red, white, and yellow pokéball with a yellow lightning bolt above the center button. "Plus, you've mentioned that you already own a fast ball. Try something new!"

"Right. I'll be sure to save this for the right occasion, then," Niko said with a smile. "Thanks, Sam. I really appreciate it."

"You bet! And again, thank you all. It's been a pleasure meeting you, and I cannot overstate how much I appreciate your help. It wasn't much—those were relatively weak thugs—but you still helped out, and that mattered immensely.

"No problem. Have nice rest of your day," Niko said as the three exited the gate of the Pokéball Factory.

"So, Niko, you guys heading back to Laverre City?" Ian asked.

"Sure thing! Charlotte and I are gonna challenge Valerie at the soonest possible opportunity!"

"Well, good luck. By the way, since it's dark outside, I think there's a bus that can take you back to Laverre City using some backroads," Ian said, pointing down the road. "I think I'll join you all, if you don't mind, since I'd like to sleep in a real bed before heading to Anistar City."

"I hear ya," Niko said, rolling his eyes. There were times that he appreciated sleeping in the outdoors, but it got old after a while.

They quietly waited for the night bus to reach their stop and, getting into the red, double-decker vehicle, the four trainers awaited their arrival in Laverre City, the next stop on a larger, more arduous journey through the Kalos region.


	31. A fashionably challenging gym!

**Episode 31: A fashionably challenging gym battle!**

The Laverre City Gym wasn't open for another couple of days, Niko and Charlotte were dismayed to find out. During this time the two of them continued training, each working with their Pokémon to master certain moves in hopes of defeating their next opponent—Valerie. On the third day since their trip to the Pokéball Factory, they visited the gym and noticed the door was unlocked. Overjoyed, Niko and Charlotte quickly walked in, with Warren following closely behind.

The lobby of the Laverre Gym looked more like a hotel lobby than anything else. It had blue patterned carpet, wood-paneled walls, and a gemstone chandelier resting high above them. To their right was a desk with a woman standing behind it. She wore her charcoal gray hair in two pigtails that flowed out on each side and had on a furisode of the same color as her hair.

"Challengers?" she asked as Niko and Charlotte approached. Both nodded. "Alright, Valerie is in today, fortunately. I'll just enter in your names and we can get started. Who will go first?"

"I'll go first this time," Niko said.

The woman in the furisode nodded, and entered in their names and hometowns before motioning them to a door opposite the entrance. It was a double door, and on the other end lay a wooden walkway into a much larger room.

A battlefield sat in the center of the gym, with four wooden bridges crossing over a small moat about 10 feet wide. The stands were, as usual, positioned on the right-hand side of the gym from the challenger's perspective, and that's where Charlotte and Warren went to sit with two other women in furisode outfits.

"You must be the friends of the challenger," they said kindly. Sensing Warren's confusion, they continued, "we're assistants to Valerie, and always come in to root for her during her gym battles.

Niko positioned himself on one end of the field, holding a pokéball in his hand. Then, the room darkened and was re-lit by the windows in the gym shining a bright light and then darkening again, bathing the room in a blue-purple color. Pink flower petals fell from who-knows-where and, moments later, a woman appeared opposite the field from Niko.

She was shorter than he was by roughly half a foot. She had long, black hair that went down past her legs; large, gray bug-like eyes with pink mascara. She wore a pink and cream yellow stylized kimono and corset with purple strings. Her long sleeves bore a resemblance to butterfly wings. Her pink skirt was puffy and black frilly ends. Lastly, she wore long black socks and black high heels with bright pink soles and ribbons. It was, all in all, an exotic and odd look in Niko's eyes.

"Hi uh. You must be mah challenga today, right?" she said in an accent Niko didn't quite recognize.

"Yes! Niko from Pallet Town!" he replied.

"Ah, yes. Ah heard about you. This will be a three-on-three match, if that is alright with yuh?" when Niko nodded, Valerie turned to the woman who assisted them at the front desk. She nodded, and quickly explained the rules of the match. Moments later, Valerie withdrew her first pokéball, as Niko threw out his.

"Fletchinder, I choose you!" Niko shouted.

"Mr. Mime, yah up!" Valerie said in a pleasant tone, summoning the pink and purple mime Pokémon that Niko recognized from his days in Kanto. "Use reflect!"

"Flame charge!" Niko shouted. The Ember Pokémon dove down towards the Barrier Pokémon, wings wide open as she lit herself on fire and charged at her opponent. However, Mr. Mime conjured a large barrier in between them, halting any advances. Fletchinder was repelled back by the reflect and, after shaking her head, dove down a second time, but faster. _I need a way to break that screen. Would…_ "Fletchinder, use razor wind!"

Fletchinder's wings began to illuminate a white color as she repeatedly waved them, creating bright white, crescent-shaped energy waves aimed at Mr. Mime and its reflect, eventually shattering it.

"Now, use flame charge again!" Niko commanded. Fletchinder lit up on fire and charged downwards towards Mr. Mime, much faster this time, and crashed into the Barrier Pokémon, knocking it onto its back. "Use it again!"

"Dazzling gleam!" Valerie commanded, sounding more fired up this time. Mr. Mime spun his hands around in front of him, conjuring up a bright, blinding light that halted Fletchinder's advances and causing her to crash into the ground. "Now, psychic!" Mr. Mime's eyes started glowing, and suddenly Fletchinder was launched high into the air and then came crashing back down onto the ground of the battlefield. This repeated a few times before Mr. Mime let go.

 _C'mon Fletchinder…_ Niko thought to himself before ordering another flame charge. Without question, Fletchinder got back up and quickly struck Mr. Mime before the Barrier Pokémon could use another move, knocking it onto its back again and rising back into the air. "Now, finish it off with a final flame charge!"

"Dazzling gleam!" Valerie commanded, thrusting a palm forward. Mr. Mime tried to attack again, but Fletchinder closer her eyes and dove down at her opponent, her fiery body crashing into the mime and launching it into the air a few feet before it came crashing back down onto the ground in defeat.

"Mr. Mime is unable to battle, Fletchinder is the winner!" the furisode referee declared, almost sadly.

"Mime, Mime, Mr. Mime," Valerie said, imitating the Barrier Pokémon's voice and thoroughly confusing Niko. "I speak Pokémon," she said as she noticed his expression. "Now, my second: Sylveon!"

Out of the pokéball appeared a cream-colored mammalian Pokémon with pinkish ears, feet, and tail. It had two bows on its body: one on its left ear and one around its neck, from which two feelers adorn it. The bows were pale cream is pinkish centers, while the feelers are pale cream with pinkish and blue tips. It had short, slender legs and small paws with three visible toes on each foot. Its eyes were blue with white pupils and no visible sclera. Its furry pinkish tail was slightly curved in a crescent shape.

" _Sylveon, the Intertwining Pokémon. Fairy type. It sends a soothing aura from its ribbonlike feelers to calm fights_ ," Charlotte's pokédex stated.

"Fairy wind!" Valerie commanded.

"Flame charge again!" Niko shouted. Fletchinder once more dove down to attack Sylveon, only to be blown astray by the fairy wind, which was stronger than Niko had anticipated. "Fine. Razor wind!"

"Swift!" Valerie commanded. Sylveon leapt into the air and spun around, firing off small yellow stars at her opponent, who blocked it with razor wind. "Now, dazzling gleam!"

"Flame charge again!" Niko called out. By now Fletchinder was blindingly fast from the constant usage of flame charge, that when she tried to attack Sylveon with it, she lost control of her speed and crashed into the ground, her fiery body dying out. "What…"

"Fairy wind!" Valerie commanded. Sylveon blew a powerful gust of sparkling wind at Fletchinder, knocking her across the field. When she came to a stop in front of Niko, she was unable to move.

"Fletchinder is unable to battle, Sylveon is the winner!" the referee declared. "Challenger Niko will now use his second Pokémon!"

"Return, Fletchinder. Clauncher, you're up!" he shouted. "Let's start off with water pulse!"

"Sylveon, swift!" Valerie commanded. The tiny blue Clauncher simply sat there, powering up his large claw with a water pulse when a dozen small stars flew towards him. At the last moment he opened the claw and fired off the pulse, shattering the stars and striking an unsuspecting Sylveon. "Fairy wind!"

"Water pulse again!" Niko shouted. He wanted to use crabhammer, but Clauncher would get easily blown back by fairy wind. He had to wait for the right moment. Clauncher fired off another water pulse, also with enough power to break through Sylveon's attack and strike it down. "Now, crabhammer!"

"Swift!" Valerie shouted, clearly sensing Clauncher's power. The Water Gun Pokémon scuttled across the field before leaping into the air, his large claw bursting in a bright blue glow before he slammed it down on the Intertwining Pokémon's head. Sylveon backed away, using her feelers to nurse her injured head. Out of sheer anger, the fairy Pokémon fired off a dazzling gleam—not on her trainer's orders—and knocked Clauncher to the ground. "Now, swift again!"

"Water pulse!" Niko shouted. Clauncher wasn't able to prepare the attack in time, and was hit by the speeding stars and dragged backwards across the field. Niko grit his teeth. This is not what he wanted. Clauncher was, in his eyes, sort of a glass cannon—he could only take so many hits. Luckily, Clauncher got back on his feet and fired off another water pulse that hit Sylveon directly in the face, launching the Intertwining Pokémon backwards and onto the ground on its side.

"Sylveon is unable to battle, Clauncher is the winner!" the referee declared. "Leader Valerie will now send out her third and final Pokémon!"

"Syl-syl, sylv Sylveon!" Valerie said as she returned her Pokémon. "Aromatisse, yah turn!"

Out of Valerie's third pokéball came a bipedal, bird-like Pokémon. Its body was purple and surrounded by a pink fur or feather-like coat, with a black bow on its lower back. Its face resembled a masquerade mask. It had a pair of purple, ox horn-shaped ears with a yellow center. Its eyes had red sclera, black irises, red pupils, and full, black eyelashes. It also had three sharp claws on each small hand.

" _Aromatisse, the Fragrance Pokémon. Fairy type. It devises various scents, pleasant and unpleasant, and emits scents that its enemies dislike in order to gain an edge in battle_ ," Charlotte's pokédex read.

"Aromatisse, use moonblast!" Valerie commanded. Aromatisse gathered energy from the moon, forming an orb of pink energy in front of its outstretched hands, and fired it at Clauncher, who managed to quickly block it with water pulse, but was moved backwards from the force of the impact. "Dazzling gleam!"

 _How do I block that!?_ Niko thought to himself in a panic. Unfortunately, he didn't think fast enough, and the blinding light hit Clauncher and threw him still backwards towards Niko, landing in his trainer's arms in defeat. "Clauncher…?"

"Clauncher is unable to battle, Aromatisse is the winner! Challenger Niko will now send out his third and final Pokémon!"

"Return, buddy. You did great," he looked up at Aromatisse, who was bouncing around the field like a spring. "Amaura, I choose you!"

"Amaura…?" Warren wondered. "Is she strong enough to handle this?"

"I think so," Charlotte said, "she's been training pretty hard since her loss to Clemont."

"Use hail!" Niko commanded. Amaura cried out, whipping up a hailstorm around the battlefield as Aromatisse retaliated with moonblast. "Block it with aurora beam, quick!"

"AU-RAAAA!" Amaura shouted, summoning a burst of rainbow energy from her mouth, her sails glowing a rainbow color as well. The beam hit the moonblast and burst it into thousands of smaller shimmers, all falling to the floor.

"Now, use thunder wave!" Niko commanded. Using her sails once again, Amaura unleashed a series of small electric sparks towards Aromatisse, who blocked them with light screen. Niko grit his teeth— _This Pokémon is good_ , he thought. "Aurora beam again!"

"Dazzling gleam!" Valerie commanded. Both attacks hit their respective targets, repelling them in opposite directions. Aromatisse was the first to get up and conjure up a moonblast, but was blocked by Amaura's quick release of aurora beam, which hit the moonblast and shattered it once again.

"Amaura, you can do this," Niko said softly. "Don't give in to the pain. Don't give up."

Amaura slowly got back onto her feet, turned to Niko, and nodded. Her trainer was right—she couldn't give up just yet. She craned her long neck towards Aromatisse and fired off a powerful aurora beam, her sails flaring up more than they ever had before. She then released a loud, primal sound as she conjured rocks from the ground. Niko's eyes widened as he recognized the attack. Rampardos had used this before, too.

It was ancientpower.

Amaura threw the rocks at Aromatisse, one at a time, each one nearly hitting the Fragrance Pokémon. In an impressive show of skill, Amaura also managed to release an aurora beam while doing this, striking Aromatisse in the chest and knocking it backwards before throwing more ancient rocks at her opponent.

"Aro! Aro!" Valerie shouted frantically, as if her Pokémon was seriously injured. Aromatisse shook its head and slowly got back up, staring down her opponent before collapsing forward.

"Aromatisse is unable to battle, Amaura is the winner! And…the victory goes to Niko from Pallet Town," the referee said in a dismayed tone.

Niko let out a sigh of relief as he usually did. When he opened his eyes, he saw Amaura running towards him, nearly tackling him to the ground. "I know, I know! You're excited! I am, too, Amaura. You did very well today, and I'm very proud of you," Niko said before nuzzling the Tundra Pokémon, who returned the gesture.

Moments later, Valerie returned Aromatisse and retreated into a back room, presumably to heal her Pokémon. When she returned, minutes later, Charlotte had taken Niko's spot. Having seen how the fairy-type gym leader battled, Charlotte felt a little more confident. She had Pokémon that had an advantage against fairy types, unlike Niko. If he could win, so could she.

"Mr. Mime, yah up!" Valerie declared, throwing out a pokéball containing the same Barrier Pokémon as before.

"Frillish, I choose you!" Charlotte shouted. "Use ominous wind!"

"Dazzling gleam!" Valerie commanded. Mr. Mime rotated its hands rapidly, creating a blinding light that engulfed the area around it. Nevertheless, it was quickly blown away by Frillish's purple gust of wind. "Light screen!"

Mr. Mime erected a light blue barrier in front of it to block an oncoming hex attack from Frillish. It then responded with another dazzling gleam that hit Frillish and launched her backwards.

"Psychic!" Valerie commanded. Before Charlotte could respond, Mr. Mime's eyes began to glow bright purple as it took control of Frillish, throwing it around the battlefield several times before dropping it down. "Dazzling gleam!"

"Block it with ominous wind!" Charlotte commanded. Frillish thrust outwards a strong gust of wind that broke through the blinding light and hit Mr. Mime's light screen. _I need to find a way to shatter that screen…_ Charlotte though to herself. "Use hex! And again!" Charlotte commanded, one after another, for her Frillish to throw hexes at the light screen. Eventually, she began to see cracks in it. "Now, use ominous wind!" she shouted, thrusting both of her arms outwards in opposing directions. Frillish whipped up another eerie blast of air that struck Mr. Mime and knocked it off of its feet. "Finish it off with hex!"

"FRIIIIIL!" Frillish shouted as she tossed a final black and purple ball of spectral energy at her opponent. It burst upon impact on the Barrier Pokémon, quickly bringing an end to the battle.

"Mr. Mime is unable to battle, Frillish is the winner!" the referee declared.

"Mime, Mime, Mr. Mime," Valerie said sadly as she returned her Pokémon. "Sylveon, let'sh go!"

"Frillish, let's keep it up. Use recover!" Charlotte commanded. The Floating Pokémon began to glow a bright white color, healing her body rapidly. However, it was interrupted by Sylveon's fairy wind, which knocked Frillish out of the air and onto the ground. "Frillish!" Charlotte shouted, and angry that Valerie chose to interrupt the move. "Use water pulse, now!"

"Sylveon, dazzling gleam!" Valerie commanded. This attack prematurely burst open the water pulse and struck Frillish, knocking her backwards. "Now, disarming voice!"

Sylveon then emitted a loud, ungodly cry, her feelers whipping through the air as it did so. Frillish attempted to plug her ears with her tentacles, but it wasn't working. Then, immediately after finishing the attack, Sylveon uses dazzling gleam, launching Frillish backwards and causing her to roll across the field before stopping at Charlotte's feet.

"Frillish is unable to battle, Sylveon is the winner!" the referee declared excited. "Challenger Charlotte will now use her second Pokémon!"

"Gogoat, I choose you!" she shouted, summoning the powerful Mount Pokémon. "Use seed bomb!"

"Sylveon, swift!" Valerie commanded. Shooting stars emitted from Sylveon's tail as they collided with the glowing green seeds fired off from Gogoat's mouth. The attacks met in the middle of the field an exploded on contact. "Dazzling gleam!"

"Close your eyes and use razor leaf!" Charlotte shouted, knowing that Gogoat could aim an attack like razor leaf correctly. The attack seemed to hit, but so was Gogoat, who winced slightly from the attack. "Keep going, Gogoat! We can do this! Use seed bomb!"

Gogoat cried out, his horns glowing a bright green color as he shot off more seeds at Sylveon, who blew them back using fairy wind. The lobbed seed bombs exploded in front of Gogoat, causing him to wince and take a step back. Sylveon then used disarming voice, adding to the damage.

"Gogoat keep fighting! Use razor leaf!" Charlotte directed. Gogoat nodded, lifting his head back up and firing off a torrent of sharp leaves at his opponent, who took the attack and winced as well before firing off a retaliatory swift attack. "Block it with razor leaf!"

"Sylveon, dazzling gleam!" Valerie commanded. Once more, the razor leaf made it through the blinding light, hitting Sylveon and leaving small, but significant, cuts along the sides of its body. "Swi-swift!" Valerie shouted, suddenly acting as if she had felt her Pokémon's pain as well. Sylveon attempted to throw speeding stars at Gogoat, but winced halfway through, and the attack barely went off, resulting in slower stars flying across the field and not even reaching Gogoat.

"Razor leaf!" Charlotte commanded. Gogoat released a second torrent of sharp leaves and struck Sylveon once more, causing the Intertwining Pokémon to collapse to the ground, now in defeat.

"Sylveon is unable to battle, Gogoat is the winner! Leader Valerie will use her third and final Pokémon!"

"Aromatisse, I choose you!" Valerie shouted, summoning the Fragrance Pokémon. "Use trick room!"

"What?" Charlotte shouted. Suddenly, blue-patterned walls and a ceiling appeared around the edges of the battlefield, closing in Aromatisse and Gogoat within some sort of magical room. "Gogoat, use seed bomb!"

"Aromatisse, moonblast!" Valerie shouted, and suddenly the Fragrance Pokémon was much faster, conjuring and throwing the pink orb of lunar energy at its opponent before he could even fire off his own attack, much less defend himself. The attack struck Gogoat directly in the face, and was followed up by a dazzling gleam that quickly finished the Mount Pokémon off.

"Gogoat!" Charlotte shouted, distraught by how fast Aromatisse was all of the sudden. _What does trick room do exactly? And why didn't she use it against Niko_?

"Gogoat is unable to battle, Aromatisse is the winner! Challenger Charlotte will now send out her third and final Pokémon!" the referee declared, almost excited about the battle now.

"Return, Gogoat. Larvitar, let's go!" Charlotte shouted, summoning the Rock Skin Pokémon. "It's all up to you, buddy. You ready for this?" Larvitar turned to Charlotte, nodded, and then observed his surroundings bemusedly. "I have no idea what trick room does—wait. Larvitar, use rock slide!"

"Aromatisse, moonblast!" Valerie commanded. Just like before, Aromatisse went first, but not by much, since Larvitar was also a rather slow Pokémon as well. However, the rock slide hardly seemed to block the moonblast, and Larvitar was hit by the attack, but didn't seem to move as a result. "Dazzling gleam!"

"Lower your head and use iron head, Larvitar!" Charlotte shouted, realizing she'd have to use her "trump card" earlier than she thought. This is why she used Larvitar. _This_ is why she spent so much time trying to learn this particular move. Larvitar obeyed nevertheless, his head bursting into a flurry of light gray colors before he charged across the field towards Aromatisse, who managed to get out of the way just in time and hit Larvitar with a moonblast to the back, knocking the Rock Skin Pokémon to the ground. "Keep going! Use iron head again!"

"Aromatisse, use moonblast!" Valerie said, suddenly feeling more cheerful than during her match with Sylveon. This time, Larvitar was prepared, and managed to hit the moonblast head-on and knock it back towards his opponent, who swiftly dodged the attack. "Moonblast again!"

Larvitar took the hit, trying to quickly recover from taking the previous moonblast. This, followed up with a dazzling gleam, made it difficult for the Rock Skin Pokémon to land a hit, much less dodge one. He collapsed onto a single knee, trying to stand up. All he could think about was Charlotte's voice, yelling for him to keep fighting. That's all she ever said, right? _Never give up_. She's said that as long as he's known her.

Larvitar then looked around at the trick room. He suddenly had an idea, and looked to Charlotte. As Aromatisse threw another moonblast at him, he pointed to the side of the wall as he fell backwards from the attack, hoping his trainer would understand.

 _What's he trying to do? Why would he be pointing at the…wait! That's it!_ "Larvitar, use iron head on the trick room!"

"Not again!" Valerie shouted. Larvitar's head burst into gray colors as he charged at the wall of the room. "Use moonblast! Finish it off, Aromatisse!"

"Keep it up, Larvitar!" Charlotte shouted. "You can do it! I believe in you!"

Larvitar kept pressing his head against the shining blue wall of the trick room. The more he pressed on it, the harder it seemed to break. He felt moonblasts hitting him in the back, but it didn't matter. All he could think of was Charlotte urging him on. That's when he felt something give way.

Suddenly, the wall cracked open, and instantly shattered into thousands of small, shimmering pieces. Larvitar then turned to Aromatisse, who was shocked by how fast Larvitar now seemed.

"Larvitar, way to go! Use iron head!" Charlotte commanded. Larvitar lowered his head as it burst into a flurry of gray colors, and charged at his opponent, leaping into the air and headbutting Aromatisse, launching it into the ground. "Finish it off with rock slide!"

"LAAAARV!" Larvitar commanded, summoning an avalanche of rocks as he quickly descended to the ground. Upon hitting the floor of the battlefield, Larvitar collapsed onto a knee as he waited for Aromatisse to get back up. Fortunately, the Fragrance Pokémon didn't.

"Aromatisse is unable to battle, Larvitar is the winner!" the referee said, albeit with a salty tone, "The victory goes to Charlotte from Castelia City!"

Charlotte fell to her knees as she held her arms out wide, waiting for Larvitar to leap into them. "You did amazing, Larvitar. You've come such a long way!"

"Larv! Larvitar!" the Rock Skin Pokémon said joyfully.

Valerie returned Aromatisse and, along with her referee and the other furisode girls, approached Charlotte, Larvitar, and now Niko and Warren. "Yuh both battling excellently today. Charlotte, I appreciated how you dealt with the trick room. I don't always use that move, but when I do I try to make it count. You're also one of the few to recognize that the trick room is breakable. Usually trainers don't get that at first," she then held out two pink and gold badges, each in the shape of wings. "Here, the Fairy Badge, as proof that you've defeated me today."

Niko and Charlotte, as usual, looked at one another and smiled. They were now six down, two to go, and both left the Laverre City Gym feeling good about their chances at obtaining the final two badges.


	32. Applying power to purpose

**Episode 32: Applying power to purpose**

"Ian mentioned going to Anistar City next," Charlotte said as she placed her guidebook on the table in front of Niko and Warren, turned to a page of a map of Kalos, "so we could head there I think. It'll take a couple weeks, at least. It's pretty far away."

"Works for me," Niko said as he sat back in his chair. After his battle with Valerie, he felt good. He felt…accomplished, in a way. But there were still two gym battles left, and usually those were some of the hardest for him. Drayden immediately came to mind. Niko knew that he'd have to do everything he could to make sure his Pokémon were in the best shape they could possibly be in.

* * *

The road to Anistar City took them through Dendemille Town first, their first stop on their journey. It would take roughly a week or so to get there. The trio began their journey moving along route 15, a beautiful plain laden with yellow leaves along the rolling hills of northern Kalos. During the first day, Niko and his friends stopped by a river to rest and train their Pokémon.

In the aftermath of the Laverre Gym, most of Niko and Charlotte's Pokémon were feeling good, especially Larvitar and Amaura. The two Pokémon—essentially raised by their trainers from birth—were the stars of their respective matches, and began their training the following day with their heads held high for the first time in a while.

"Alright Larvitar, let's work on iron head again!" Charlotte said. Instead, she noticed the Rock Skin Pokémon turning to go play with Poliwhirl and Leavanny, confusing the both of them. "Uh…Larvitar? We need to train."

Larvitar turned to Charlotte and shook his head, almost defiantly. He then turned to try and play with Poliwhirl and Leavanny, who were doing something with the yellow flowers by the river. Both of them seemed just as puzzled as Charlotte was, and presumably urged Larvitar to go back and train, but he didn't seem to want to.

"What's gotten into him today?" Charlotte said with a shrug. "He doesn't want to train _now_? After he did so well against Valerie?"

"Maybe that's exactly it," Niko guessed, "Larvitar doesn't feel like he _needs_ to train anymore, since he's done so well already."

Charlotte slapped her face with the palm of her hand. "That makes _no sense_! Larvitar! Get over here!"

The Rock Skin Pokémon, startled from Charlotte's stern voice—clearly the first time he's ever heard it—turned and looked at her with wide eyes. Then they rested to a half-stare as he realized that Charlotte might not actually do anything to him. He then sat on the ground, clearly out of protest.

"Okay, fine. Then maybe you won't participate in a gym battle next time," Charlotte said before turning to her others. "Let's get some work done today, alright?"

Meanwhile, Niko was having a relatively easier time with Amaura, whose victory over Aromatisse gave her more confidence in her abilities, and convinced her of the rewards for hard work. It was clear, during her training with Niko, that she wanted to improve even more. So, the two of them worked on her moves together, focusing specifically on ancientpower while Niko's other Pokémon either watched or worked on their own moves.

Recently, Niko had been giving an inordinate amount of time to the Tundra Pokémon, and everyone else was noticing it. There seemed to be mixed reviews on this. Some Pokémon—like Quilladin—weren't too happy with it, and then the others—Fletchinder, Slurpuff, and Clauncher—didn't necessarily seem to mind. The latter three understood the relationship Niko was cultivating with Amaura, and had heard stories, on occasion, of him and his Rampardos. If the stories were true, they all collectively thought, then it made sense for Niko to give some more attention to a Pokémon he got from a fossil.

In addition, Amaura wasn't that bad of a battler. In fact, she was quite good at it. And in her training, it showed when she managed to fire off an aurora beam nearly half her size before collapsing from exhaustion.

"That's enough for today, bud," Niko said as he pat Amaura on the head before returning her, "get some rest, please," he turned to Charlotte. "How's Larvitar doing?"

"Nothing. He's doing nothing," Charlotte said as she side-eyed the Rock Skin Pokémon. "How do you get over that?"

"Put him in a battle. I did that with Chespin a few times and he eventually got it, I think," Niko said, turning to watch Quilladin successfully use needle arm for the fifth time in a row. "Great job Quilladin!"

Niko began cooking while he watched his Pokémon finish up their training before retiring for the day. His cooking had gotten better during their adventures, but he still messed up on basic recipes on occasion, usually related to overcooking them. Nevertheless, he felt better about his newest hobby, while Warren was writing in his booklet and Charlotte continued a drawing of one of the Pokémon. Meanwhile, their teams were running around and playing, without a care in the world.

* * *

The following evening, the trio was walking down route 15 in the rain when they noticed a tall, several-storied building sitting atop a hill. Curious—since they didn't usually see stray buildings on their journeys and they needed shelter to get out of the rain—the three of them hiked up the hill to check it out.

Upon opening the front door, it was clear that this wasn't some ordinary building—it was a hotel. In the middle sat a large crystal statue with three curved, pointed ends and a pyramidal shape in the center. On the other side of the statue was a welcome desk. They approached the desk and an elderly man with round, black-rimmed glasses sitting at the desk.

"Hello, welcome to the Weston Hotel. I am Weston, the owner. How may I help you?"

"I…I guess that we'd like to reserve a room for the night?" Niko asked

"Yes yes. You may," he noticed the bags slung around the trio's shoulder. "Ah, travelers?"

"Yep! On our way to Anistar City," Warren replied. Weston then gave them a key and smiled wryly.

"Your room is on the second floor. If you're interested in battling, we have a battlefield on the first floor," he said with a wink.

Niko nodded, thanked Weston, and led the group to their room on the second floor. Along the way, they noticed a picture of four young trainers and the man at the reception desk posing together. One of the boys had a pikachu sitting on his shoulder, and the girl had a dedenne. Niko then paused as he was walking by, looked closely, and recognized Clemont there, too.

"Guys, look," Niko said, pointing to the picture. "It's Clemont! And…Bonnie!"

"Who're they with?" Warren asked as he eyed the picture.

"Must've been the people he's travelled with…" Niko said. "I've seen that guy in the hat from somewhere, though. I just can't remember where…"

As soon as they put their bags down, he turned to Charlotte and Warren. He only had to raise an eyebrow and the two immediately understood. Grabbing their pokéballs, the three of them burst out of their hotel door and down to the first floor, where the battlefield was in the center of the hotel.

"Woah…" Niko said as he looked at the battlefield, with a red floor and what looked like balconies lining the walls. It was, however, hard to see what was going on amidst the crowd formed around the battlefield. Niko waded through the crowd to get a better look at what was going on, only to notice a battle in progress.

"What's going on here?" Warren asked a young man standing by.

"Every weekend the Weston Hotel hosts a battling extravaganza. Trainers from all over the area come by and just battle," he said pleasantly. "It's a lot of fun to just watch! Occasionally we'll have tournaments with prizes and stuff!"

"Sounds like a good time," Niko said, turning to watch the battle currently going on.

"Crawdaunt, crabhammer!" one guy in a biker outfit commanded.

"Seviper, poison tail!" a girl with oddly-shaped pink hair shouted. The long serpentine Pokémon slithered towards the crab, the tip of its tail glowing a bright purple color. With incredible dexterity, it leapt into the air, spun around, and slammed its tail atop Crawdaunt's head, causing the Rogue Pokémon to fall face-forward into the ground. Seviper landed backwards on the battlefield, waiting for Crawdaunt to get back up. It didn't.

"Crawdaunt is unable to battle, seviper is the winner!" the referee declared. "The victory goes to Jeanne!"

"Yes! Return, Seviper!" the woman named Jeanne shouted cheerfully. "In _your_ face, Jacques!"

"Oh, shut it," Jacques said before turning and leaving the room.

"Alright, who's next?" the referee declared. No one seemed to raise their hands, so Niko did.

"I'll go," Niko said, raising a hand up. The referee saw it and beckoned him over.

"What's your name, son?"

"I'm Niko."

"Great, let's see…who wants to challenge Niko!?" he asked.

"Meh, I'll do it," another guy in odd-looking getup said. "Sid's the name."

"Alright, Sid versus Niko! This will be a one-on-one Pokémon battle between Niko and Sid! The winner will be declared when his opponent's Pokémon is unable to battle! You may begin!"

"Scrafty, I choose you!" Sid shouted, summoning a bipedal lizard-like Pokémon. It had oval, wide-set eyes with small pupils and gray eyelids, as well as small nostrils and a wide mouth with bared teeth, giving it the look of a permanent sneer. It had a red crest atop its head, similar to a mohawk. Baggy yellow skin hung off of its shoulders, falling halfway down its back. Its body was orange, with thin arms and a gray, scaled belly. Its lower body and tail are covered by loose yellow skin resembling baggy pants. On its tail was a single red scale.

" _Scrafty, the Hoodlum Pokémon. Dark and fighting type. It pulls up its shed skin to protect itself while it kicks. The bigger the crest, the more respected it is_ ," Charlotte's pokédex read out.

"Scrafty, eh?" Niko said, trying to recall a time where he fought one. "Quilladin, I choose you!"

"Brick break!" Sid commanded.

"Needle arm!" Niko shouted. Both Pokémon charged forward, arms and hands illuminating brightly, before they clashed in the middle of the field. "Pin missile up close!"

"Headbutt!" Scrafty threw its head towards Quilladin, who ducked and fired off bright green missiles from the spines on his head directly at Scrafty, striking it in the head and launching it backwards and into the air.

"Rollout!" Niko commanded. Quilladin turned into a ball and rolled across the field towards where Scrafty would land, striking it quickly. "Now, needle arm!"

"Scrafty, b-brick break!" Sid said, slightly panicked now. However, Quilladin was faster, slamming a bright green arm into Scrafty's side, launching the Hoodlum Pokémon backwards towards the crowd behind it. Scrafty collapsed onto the ground, but quickly managed to get back up, albeit slowly. "Use hi jump kick!"

"Quilladin, wait for it," Niko said calmly. He knew exactly how to approach this. Scrafty leapt into the air, its knee glowing bright white. As it descended towards Quilladin, both trainer and Pokémon stared at it, waiting for the right moment. "Now! Dodge!" Quilladin rolled to the left and out of the way, making room for Scrafty to crash into the ground. "Now, use pin missile!"

Quilladin turned to his right and fired off missiles from the spines on his head, striking Scrafty from a distance, resulting in an explosion. Once the dust settled, Scrafty lay there, unable to move.

"Scrafty is unable to battle, Quilladin is the winner! And the victory goes to Niko!" the referee declared.

Niko returned Quilladin, just as Sid returned Scrafty. The former walked across the field towards Sid, who simply nodded, turned away, and left the battlefield, leaving Niko standing there by himself. While he made his way back through the crowd to Charlotte and Warren, the referee was calling for another set of trainers.

"Anyone? Anyone at all? Last call!"

"You should do it," Niko whispered to Charlotte.

"Why?" she asked.

"Because I did, and you're just as strong of a trainer," Niko whispered with a smile.

"I'm not!"

"LAST CALL!" the referee shouted.

"I'll do it!" Charlotte raised her hand. It took the referee a moment to notice her, but he nodded in recognition, motioning her forward. "I'm Charlotte."

Just then, a young boy shot out of the crowd on roller skates. He looked similar to Korrina—similar height, similar hair color, and he wore roller skates. The differences were that he was a male, and his eyes were green. His hair, while blonde, was messy, as if he had just woken up. He had several freckles over his face. He wore an orange shirt with white stripes around the collar, the bottom of the shirt, and on the arm sleeves. Lastly, he wore beige cargo pants.

"And…you are?" the referee asked.

"I'm Aaron!" he said before turning to Charlotte, whom he was only slightly taller than. "And h-hi, Charlotte."

"Hi!" Charlotte said, walking up and shaking Aaron's hand. She didn't notice it, but he was blushing slightly. "Want to battle?"

"Of course! Let's do it!" Charlotte said, running back to her end of the field and waiting for Aaron, who beat her to it on his roller skates. The referee explained the rules of the match and, almost immediately, Aaron sent out his Pokémon.

"Rotom, I choose you!" he shouted, throwing out a pokéball containing a small orange Pokémon with light blue electric sparks emitting from it on both sides.

"Larvitar, you're up!" Charlotte shouted. _I hope he's up for this_. She also pulled out her pokédex, not familiar with her opponent:

" _Rotom, the Plasma Pokémon. Electric and ghost type. Research continues on his Pokémon, which could be the power source of a unique motor_."

"So, we have the advantage, then…Larvitar, rock slide!"

"Rotom, form change!" Aaron shouted. Suddenly, the Rotom flew into a nearby electrical socket and disappeared, completely ignoring the rock slide. "This is a strategy I learned from Weston himself, who also owned a rotom. I hope you like it!" he said.

Suddenly, from the doors behind Aaron came out a walking _washing machine_ , only with Rotom's eyes and orange color.

"Larvitar…err, use—"

"Hydro pump!" Aaron commanded. Rotom aimed the pipe on the side of its body at Larvitar and fired off a powerful burst of water, hitting Larvitar and knocking him backwards. He rolled a few times before collapsing in front of Charlotte.

"Larvitar!" Charlotte got onto a knee to see how her Pokémon was doing. "Can you keep going?" Larvitar nodded, wincing a little. "Heh, alright. Let's do this. Use rock slide!"

"Hydro pump!" Aaron directed. This time, Larvitar rolled out of the way before conjuring an avalanche of rocks from above Rotom, causing them to collapsed onto it. "Form change!"

Rotom then reverted back to its normal form, leaving a washing machine simply sitting there. It then went into the same electrical socket, only to return minutes later in the form of a lawn mower. It burst through the door and, almost immediately, summoned a leaf storm attack, whipping Larvitar into the air and throwing him around before letting him go and allowing him to crash into the ground.

"Larvitar…" Charlotte said, "you can do this."

Larvitar turned to Charlotte and scowled, as if he was mad at her. Taken aback by this, Charlotte looked away.

"This is why we need to keep training, Larvitar. This is why it matters! If you want to get better than you _have_ to keep practicing! You can't just win a gym battle and then stop! It doesn't work like that."

Larvitar turned towards the lawn mower Rotom and charged off without direction, clearly trying to use iron head. Instead, Rotom used leaf storm once more and blasted the Rock Skin Pokémon backwards, nearly hitting Charlotte.

"Larvitar, I believe in you. I always will. But you have to believe in me, too, for this to work," she said calmly as Larvitar tried to get back up. "I chose to battle with you today because I wanted to give you another chance. By the way you were acting earlier, I didn't think you deserved it. But you do. You deserve every opportunity to get stronger, because that's the kind of Pokémon you are. You want to get stronger, so you can mega evolve. I want to get stronger with you, so _we_ can mega evolve together. Larvitar…if you're willing, let's win this."

Charlotte then bent down onto one knee and held out her hand. Larvitar, still frustrated, resisted his trainer at first. Then, he realized she was right—if he wanted to attain his goal, he needed Charlotte. And she needed him. But more than that, they _wanted_ each other to do better. He then reached out and placed his stubby arm in her hand, and began to glow a bright white color, enveloping the battlefield.

"Woah!" the crowd said in awe as Larvitar started to grow, but not by much. He was now in the shape of a cocoon made of grayish-blue rock. His red eyes could be seen through two holes in his shell, and two more holes directly above to resemble eyebrows. The upper portion of his body was covered by a mask-like plate with four large spikes on either side. Three additional spikes protruded from his forehead.

" _Pupitar, the Hard Shell Pokémon. Rock and ground type. Its shell is as hard as sheet rock, and it is also very strong. Its thrashing can topple a mountain_ ," Niko's pokédex read.

"Pupitar…" Charlotte said in awe. "Pupitar! Let's go!"

"Rotom, don't let up! Use leaf storm!" Aaron commanded. In response, Pupitar roared out, summoning a dark nexus of energy from just underneath his eyes, where his mouth would normally reside. It blasted back the leaf storm and hit Rotom square in the face, knocking the actual Pokémon out of the appliance, and shocking Aaron. "Fo-form change!"

"Not just yet! Pupitar, use iron head!" Charlotte shouted. Pupitar shot off of the ground, his entire body glowing a bright gray color. He struck Rotom as it was trying to go back into the socket, launching it to the side of the battlefield. "Dark pulse!"

Pupitar once more unleashed the dark energy from his body, striking Rotom directly in the face again. The Plasma Pokémon collapsed to the ground, struggling to get back up.

"Rotom is unable to battle, Pupitar is the winner! And the victory goes to Charlotte!"

"Yay! Pupitar, we did it!" Charlotte exclaimed, running over to hug the Hard Shell Pokémon. "I'm so proud of you…always. We're one step closer to mega evolving."

"Great job, C-Charlotte," Aaron said as he and Rotom looked down at their victorious opponents. "You did really great."

"Thanks Aaron, you too! I completely forgot that Rotom could use appliances."

"Heh…y-yeah, most people do," Aaron said, nervously scratching his head. "So, uh, where are you coming from?"

"Oh, I'm on a journey with my two friends, Niko and Warren. We're going to Anistar City for a gym battle."

"You're battling gyms, too?" Aaron shouted excitedly. When Charlotte nodded, his eyes lit up. "Me too! D-do you plan on entering the Kalos League?"

"Hopefully. Niko and I only have two badges left to go."

"Oh…" Aaron said, looking over at Niko with a very plain, emotionless expression.

"Why? Are you?"

Aaron perked back up again. "Yes! I have four already! On my way to Laverre City to challenge the gym leader there!"

"Well, good luck. I think you'll do just great against her," Charlotte said, holding her hand out. "Thanks for the battle, Aaron. It was also nice meeting you!"

Aaron enthusiastically shook Charlotte's hand, but his mood seemed to sour slightly when Niko and Warren approached Charlotte's side. They also introduced themselves, but Aaron seemed less enthusiastic about them.

"W-would you like to get something to eat?" Aaron asked just as Charlotte and her friends were about to leave. Charlotte turned to Aaron, and then to Niko and Warren.

"Sure? Why not."

* * *

"So, where're you from, Aaron?" Warren asked.

"Vaniville Town. It's south of Santalune City, if you've ever been there. Some famous people are from there, too," Aaron said as he took a sip of tea.

"Can't say we have. You said you're challenging gyms? How's that going?" Niko asked. Aaron glared at him for a moment before cordially responding.

"I am battling them. Like I told Charlotte, I have four gym badges, and I'm going for my fifth in Laverre City. I just got the one in Anistar City, actually."

"How is that gym?"

"Depends. She uses psychic types, so my Rotom and Banette were able to make quick work of her. But I think your Quilladin might have some difficulty."

"Really now," Niko said, sitting back in his chair. "You think so?"

"I do. She's not to be underestimated, Olympia. I think Charlotte won't have much difficulty, though, if she uses that Pupitar of hers."

Niko and Warren both looked at one another before turning back to look at Aaron with slight confusion. Charlotte, on the other hand, seemed to find it humorous.

"Anyway, it's been a long day. I think I'm gonna head off now," Niko said, getting out of his chair. Warren did the same. "It was great meeting you, Aaron. Best of luck against Valerie."

"Thanks Niko. Good luck in Anistar City. Charlotte, are you going too?"

"I think so. Again, it was nice meeting you. Hope to see you again sometime," Charlotte said, holding out her hand. Aaron took it and shook it, turning a slightly pale pink color. Oblivious to this, Charlotte got up and ran off to catch up with Niko and Warren.

In their hotel room, Niko was sitting on his bed, reading his _Kalos Myths_ book while Warren was writing, and Charlotte was sketching. The silence between the three was long, and slightly awkward. Warren and Niko both seemed to be thinking the same thing, and nearly blurted it out, too.

"It seems like Aaron likes you," they said, almost simultaneously.

"Really? He's a kid, though," Charlotte sat back and paused, "and probably too young for me."

"Well, yes, but I think he think you are, too," Niko said with a shrug.

"How do you suppose? That he likes me, that is."

"The way he acts around you, compared to around us. The kid clearly seems jealous," Warren said. "It was off-putting, I think."

"Well, I don't think it's a big deal, you two. I wouldn't worry about it," Charlotte said while getting back to her drawing.

"We just thought it was a little odd, that's all," Niko said.

"It really isn't, though," Charlotte said. "Why would someone liking me be odd in any way?"

"There's nothing wrong with that! But when he started acting like he did, yes it was."

"Okay Niko, we don't need to argue about this," Charlotte said defensively. Niko noticed she was more aggressively placing pencil to paper.

"I wasn't trying to argue with you…just pointing out how I felt."

"Well we don't always need to know how you _feel_ ," Charlotte said. Warren's eyes widened, and Niko immediately shut up, both equally confused.

With that, the three continued with their respective hobbies late into the night, their Pokémon all sleeping soundly around them. Eventually, Charlotte was the last one to fall asleep early into the morning, as lost in her feelings as the Weston Hotel used to be in Kalos.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Kind of a lot of small things happening in this episode. Hope you all enjoyed!**


	33. The choice

**Episode 33: The choice**

"Amaura, use ancientpower!" Niko commanded. The Tundra Pokémon cried out, summoning rocks from the ground to throw at her opponent—this time, Warren's Leavanny.

"Leavanny, block them with leaf blade!" Warren commanded. The Nurturing Pokémon's leaf-hands burst into a bright green color as she slashed at the ancientpower, shattering each rock in turn before charging towards her opponent with the same attack.

"Aurora beam!" Niko directed. Amaura's sails began to shimmer as she fired off the rainbow-colored beam at Leavanny, striking her in the abdomen and forcing her to the ground. "Nice job, Amaura!" Niko said, running up to his Pokémon and hugging her. "You're getting so much better!"

Amaura smiled, even licking Niko with her ice-cold tongue that nearly stuck to her trainer's cheek. Niko slowly backed off before touching his frozen cheek and laughed as hard as he could.

Since leaving Weston Hotel, the trio had gotten progressively closer to Dendemille Town, their next destination on the way to Niko and Charlotte's seventh gym badge in Anistar City. During this time, Charlotte had minimized contact with Niko and Warren over their thoughts on a boy they met in the hotel—Aaron. It was clear that they had hurt her feelings, but neither of them seemed to know how, or why. Niko instinctively wanted to chalk it up to oversensitivity, but realized that admitting such might make matters worse, and tried to convince himself that Charlotte was upset over what they said and how they said it, rather than just being immediately offended.

In all the time he had known Charlotte, the two of them hardly fought. There were small arguments here and there, usually about how to cook something; or the path they should take through a forest or around a river. There were also fights that dealt with training—Niko thought a certain method or move worked, but Charlotte would disagree, or vice versa. Those arguments quickly resolved themselves, either with Warren mediating them, or the two parties simply forgetting about it and moving on.

This, however, seemed different to Niko, and he didn't quite understand why. From what he had gathered, Charlotte overwise appreciated Niko—maybe more than he realized. Before this argument, she probably had romantic feelings towards him. Now, he wasn't entirely sure of that. Regardless of her true feelings before, it seemed to Niko like they had dissolved completely, since Charlotte showed everything _but_ admiration for him.

It showed in their training. Usually, the two of them trained side by side with their Pokémon, even comparing moves and working on them together. Before getting to Lost Hotel, Niko was beginning to help Charlotte understand double battles, a concept that took him longer to understand than it should have. Unlike Niko, she managed to pick it up rather quickly. However, after their small argument, she stopped working with him entirely, which partly explained why he and Amaura were training against Warren and Leavanny.

"Great job, Niko," Warren said as he and Leavanny approached their former opponents. "Amaura is certainly getting better."

"She really is. I think she'll do really well in Anistar City," Niko said.

"Say, Niko," Warren said as the two sat down on a log. The trio was currently residing in a clearing in a small valley. According to Charlotte (when she was speaking with them), Dendemille Town was just over the valley from where they were. "How _is_ Amaura doing? I mean…when you first caught her, Dr. Fitzpatrick said that you would need to worry about her health."

"Yeah, I think about it a lot, actually," Niko said, petting the Tundra Pokémon. "That's why I didn't bring her out often when we were in the badlands—she couldn't handle that kind of weather, even if she was using hail to alter the environment around her. But I think, since we're up north, she'll have less of a problem, you know?"

"I think so, too," Warren said, looking over at Amaura, who was playing a game of catch with Charlotte's Frillish. It seemed like the feuds within the human group didn't translate over to their Pokémon. Warren looked at Charlotte, who was training with Pupitar, Braixen, and Sawsbuck, and then turned to Niko. "You gonna say anything to her?"

"Me? Why?"

"Because of the…"

"The argument? Warren, we _both_ contributed!" Niko whispered. "Plus, I think it's all just silly."

"Don't tell her that, though."

"Oh, I won't. But why do I need to say anything? What _do_ I say?" Niko said bemusedly.

"No idea. But I think it would mean a lot to her if you at least said you're sorry. I already tried—she didn't listen."

"I just don't get why she's so caught up in this…" Niko said, shaking his head.

"I think maybe you assumed something poorly about Aaron? Or…maybe she was offended that you thought no one would like her?"

"Wait…what?" Niko asked. "Explain that last part."

"Well, what you were saying may have come off as something along the lines of 'why would Aaron like someone like you?' Does that make sense?"

"Sort of. I see where you're coming from," Niko said, looking at Charlotte before turning to Amaura again. He noticed, in the last time Amaura threw the rock she was using to play catch with, that it was weaker than it usually was. Confused, Niko chalked it up to exhaustion, and paid little more attention to it.

* * *

Dendemille Town was a small place in the northeastern part of Kalos. It was a town built on the side of a mountain, with the houses built in a terrace-like formation. At the top of the mountain sat half a dozen windmills, all rotating the cold air gusting around them. A river ran to the eastern side of the town, down the mountain and into the valley that the trio had previously stayed in.

Planning to stay in the area for only a day at most, the trio stopped at the Pokémon Center to reserve a room before venturing into the town as tourists.

While Charlotte was washing up, Niko approached her bed and, as inconspicuously as he could, attempted to grab her guidebook from her bag. His reasoning was that if he asked Charlotte what they could do in Dendemille Town, she might snap at him or ignore him like she has been.

Instead, the result was worse. Niko couldn't immediately find the guidebook. It wasn't in her bag! Niko continued searching until he heard his name screamed from across the room.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Charlotte shouted at Niko, who nearly fell over from shock. "Niko! What are you doing rummaging through my bag?"

"I—I—I was looking for your guidebook!" Niko stammered, scrambling back to his feet. Charlotte simply stared at him before pointing to it, sitting in another bag on her bed. "Oh…eheh, right."

"Seriously Niko, understand what private space is," Charlotte said, picking up the book and forcing it into Niko's hands. He didn't say a thing, instead looking in it as he sat down on his own bed. Niko quickly found very little of interest in the guidebook, suggesting that Dendemille Town would be roughly the same.

"Hey Warren, I think I'm gonna just train today. It doesn't look like there's much to do around here," Niko said as his friends walked back into their room after talking to Sydney.

"Sounds good. Charlotte told me she's thinking of going to a pub around here. Apparently, it's pretty famous. Feel free to join us if you want."

"Thanks, but I'll pass. Rather not piss her off again," Niko said as he rolled his eyes.

"I understand."

"By the way, how's Sydney?" Niko asked. He hadn't talked to Warren's girlfriend in a long time.

"Great! She just got promoted at her work to office manager, which is nice. But otherwise not much going on with her. She will be coming to watch you and Charlotte in the Kalos League, wherever that is."

"I heard someone say it was held in Lumiose City, but we'd have to double check that. Either way, that's awesome! Can't wait to see her again!"

"Yeah, same here," Warren said as he rolled his eyes and walked off, leaving Niko to his own devices in their room.

Niko spent some time laying on his bed reading while his Pokémon took a nap at his bedside. After a while, he figured they should get up and actually train a bit. He gathered up the five Pokémon and led them out to the practice battlefield to begin their training. It started to get colder during that late afternoon, to the point where Niko had to briefly rush back in to grab his blue coat with black stripes along the edges. By the time he had come back, he noticed his Pokémon in a panic.

"What's going—oh my!" Niko shouted as he cleared through his Pokémon to see Amaura collapsed on her side, breathing heavily. "Wha-what happened?"

His Pokémon all started talking at him, clearly trying to explain their side of the story. Niko eventually ignored them, instead asking for Slurpuff to go grab Nurse Joy. Moments later, the pink-haired nurse and her wigglytuff came running out with a stretcher and, in minutes, carried the Tundra Pokémon off.

"Is she going to be alright?" Niko eventually asked from outside the emergency room. "What's wrong with her?"

"It seems she's come down with some sort of airborne illness. Could be an issue dealing with her habitat, or something else. I'm…I'm not entirely sure. Wait a moment," Joy said before leaving the room. When alone, Niko looked through the window and saw Amaura laying there, breathing heavily. A million things ran through his mind, the first of which was the last time he was waiting outside an emergency room. It was with his Rampardos at the Sinnoh League. And there, with him, was Lauren. Instead, now it was his Amaura, and he had his other Pokémon to comfort him.

Fletchinder was carrying Quilladin so the both of them could get a look, and Clauncher climbed up on Slurpuff's back to see for himself what was happening. That's when Niko decided to tell them all the story of Rampardos. Near the end, a tear glistened under his eye.

"I want you all to meet him someday. He's…an incredible Pokémon. That's why I'm really scared right now. I don't want to go through this again. I don't want something _worse_ to happen."

Niko then felt something touch his arm. Looking to his left, he saw Clauncher place his large blue claw on Niko's upper arm with the same emotionless expression he often gave. Slurpuff also placed her stubby hand on Niko's waist, also in solidarity. That's when Nurse Joy came back, this time with a smile on her face.

"Niko, I have something that can help you, but you'll need to go find him."

"Find _him_? Who?" Niko asked.

"His name is Wulfric. He's from Snowbelle City, and usually doesn't come to Dendemille Town often. But he's in town right now, and can help your Amaura. He's an expert in ice type Pokémon."

"Great. Where in town can I find him?" Niko wondered.

"North of the town, near the windmill. He's hard to miss—Wulfric is a pretty big guy," Nurse Joy said with a smile.

"Thank you so much," Niko said, walking into the emergency room, returning Amaura and the rest of his Pokémon, and running out of the Pokémon Center towards this man named Wulfric.

* * *

Niko rapped on a door near the windmill. It was a small, brick-laden house with a pale blue roof. On a sign in front of the door, it read "tough as an iceberg, hot as a furnace."

Suddenly, Niko heard someone walking through the inside of the house and, moments later, it opened to reveal a heavy-set, elderly man with slicked-back white hair and a mustache that resembled walrein tusks. He wore a white tank shirt and black pants and boots. He stared down at Niko with tough, gray eyes.

"What do you want?" he asked in a deep, almost concerned, tone.

"Hi, my name's Niko, and I—"

"I don't need your life story, kid. What. Do. You. Want?"

"My Amaura is sick, and Nurse Joy recommended I come find you. You're Wulfric, right?"

"Wulfric of Snowbelle City, yes. You said your Pokémon was sick?" Niko nodded. "Let me take a look at it."

He led Niko into the small, one room home and watched at Wulfric laid down a sky blue blanket on the ground and turned to Niko, as if telepathically telling him to lay his Pokémon there. Niko did, pulling out Amaura's pokéball and watched as she collapsed to the ground. Niko instinctively dropped to his knees and placed his hand on her forehead. It was warm. Uncharacteristically warm.

"What can you do about it? Nurse Joy says that it's something ice types come down with normally, but she didn't tell me specifically."

"She's right. It could be a number of things, actually," Wulfric said, sitting down to examine Amaura as well. "On one hand, it could be similar to what ice types around here deal with—some sort of 'bug' in the air. On another, because it is an Amaura, it might be an entirely different problem."

"Like what?" Niko asked, even though he already had an idea of the answer.

"Amaura's body temperature needs to be low. If its too low for an extended period of time, it'll fall sick," Wulfric then studied Niko's understanding expression. "You've heard this before, haven't you?"

"Yes, the doctor that revived Amaura told me this. I guess I wasn't taking good enough care of her."

"I suppose not, but I understand. This is a difficult Pokémon to care for, unless you live in a colder climate. There is a place up north that I can take her, if you'd like. It'll help her 're-charge her batteries,' so to speak. That is, if this is the actual cause of the problem."

"Anything," Niko said with a heavy sigh.

"Very well, then. Let's get going. It's not far from here, just over the mountain," Wulfric said as he stood up. Niko returned Amaura, and the two set off. During the trip, Wulfric seemed to be walking far ahead of Niko, which surprised him. Niko had been travelling for nearly six years now, and was in great shape because of it. Wulfric, however, struck Niko as slightly more sedentary, yet was powering through the snow and small hills like they were irrelevant to him. He was in far better physical condition than Niko would have ever imagined. "So! Niko," he said gruffly as they made it over the top of the mountain. "What're you doing in Dendemille Town?"

"I'm stopping here with some friends on the way to Anistar City."

Wulfric turned to Niko and raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What're you going to Anistar for?"

"A gym battle. My seventh, actually," Niko said. He could briefly see a slight smirk on Wulfric's face before he turned and continued on.

"Determined to make it to the Kalos League, I see," Wulfric said. "Interesting. I wish you luck against Olympia. She's…something else."

"In a good way or a bad way?"

"Depends on how strong of a battler you are."

Niko didn't have time to consider Wulfric's words, as they had finally made it over the mountain and to the entrance of a cave. He peered into it, and then turned to Wulfric. "What's this place?"

"This is Frost Cavern. It's the coldest place in the Kalos region. And it used to be the home to one of my Pokémon," Wulfric said. "Now, Niko, send out your Amaura. And let her sleep here. She will start to feel better in time, should our theory about her illness be correct."

"Amaura," Niko said, tossing a pokéball to the ground and allowing the Tundra Pokémon to emerge before collapsing onto the snowy surface of the cavern, "rest, please. Wulfric said that this place will make you feel better, alright?"

Amaura nodded and curled up in the cave, quickly falling into a slumber. Niko then looked at Wulfric, who was already standing outside of the cave.

"How long should I wait?" Niko asked.

"Until she starts to feel better. Do you need me to wait with you?"

"That's up to you. I think I can handle it, though."

Wulfric took a deep breath, and then exhaled. "If you plan on keeping your Amaura in the long term, you need to consider ways of keeping its environment cold enough. Have you?"

"No, no I haven't," Niko said, looking away into the cold terrain outside Frost Cavern. It was lightly snowing that evening. "I don't know what to do," then an unconscionable thought crept into his head. "Would I have to give up Amaura?"

"Not if you don't want to. But consider your options, Niko. You're on a journey, and not all of Kalos has this sort of climate. To be able to keep you Amaura in good health, you'd need to have some sort of way to keep it cold. Or, at least you couldn't stay in moderate climates for very long. Should you do that, you would risk having this happen again. Your other option, of course, is that you let her go. Or, give her to a caretaker to watch over while you travel."

"I don't know anyone in cold climates that could take care of Amaura for me…" Niko said. "I…I don't know if I _could_ part with her, even if I had to."

"I understand that, Niko. But all trainers have to make tough decisions sometimes. I once knew a trainer who had to make the choice of letting one of his strongest Pokémon go, but for the greater good of Kalos. It wasn't easy, to be sure, but it was the right choice. Sometimes, Niko, we have to choose between doing what is right and what is easy."

Niko nodded. Without saying anything else, he turned and walked back into the cave to sit down next to Amaura. She seemed to breath easier now, and her scaly skin began to feel much colder, as it did when he first met her. He only had to wait a couple of hours or so for the Tundra Pokémon to wake up. She stared up at him with unblinking, wide eyes.

"Good evening, Amaura," Niko said calmly. "Are you feeling better?"

Amaura nodded, and turned to see Wulfric sitting at the edge of the cave. He now had a light blue winter jacket with red edges zipped up around his stocky build. He noticed Amaura looking at him, and smiled back. The Tundra Pokémon stood up and stretched her small legs before walking out of the cave. The moon was high in the night sky, and it had stopped snowing.

"Amaura…" Niko began to say, "there's something I want to talk to you about," he said as he approached his Pokémon. He then crouched down so he was eye-level with Amaura. "When I first caught you, Dr. Fitzpatrick told me that I'd need keep an eye on your body temperature. The reason for that is that your body needs to stay cold constantly, or else you could get sick. That's what happened in Dendemille Town earlier, when you collapsed before training. I found Wulfric and he took us here to help you heal up," Niko then looked at Wulfric, who pretended not to notice him.

"Wulfric also told me that, because of your condition, I can't keep you in warmer climates for very long. You need to stay cold. Does that make sense?" Amaura nodded. Niko always figured she was smarter than he gave her credit for. "Well, because we're constantly travelling, I can only keep you with me if there's a way to keep you cold. I don't know how to do that."

It became apparent to Niko that Amaura now understood the gravity of the situation. She teared up slightly, and looked away.

"If I can find someone to take care of you while I'm travelling, then I can bring you to the Kalos League when Charlotte, Warren, and I get there. Otherwise, I'd have to release you."

Niko had, on a few occasions, considered releasing his Pokémon. He did for the more disobedient ones—Numel, Chespin, Croconaw—and he had when he left for Unova, but had had never considered it for a Pokémon that he had formed a strong, stable bond with. This, to him, was unprecedented.

"I don't want to release you. I really don't."

Amaura then leaned in close to Niko, nuzzling his shoulder with her cold, scaly head. He could feel one of the sails edging against his cheek. Then, suddenly, her entire body began to illuminate, and grow significantly larger.

She still retained her blue skin color, but with a lighter underside. Two lines of small ice crystals ran the length of her body, one line on each side. A white, V-shaped mark covered the top of her head with another ice crystal in the center, giving her the appearance of wearing a tiara or a headdress. Two large, flowing sails extended from the top of her head and ran down her long neck. The sails were pale whitish-yellow at the base, and faded into a pale bluish-purple at the edges. Lastly, at the tip of her tail was teardrop-shaped and curled inward.

" _Aurorus, the Tundra Pokémon. Rock and ice type. Using its diamond-shaped crystals, it can instantly create a wall of ice to block an opponent's attack_ ," Niko's pokédex read.

"Ah," Wulfric said, standing back up. "So, you evolved. Interesting."

"How so?"

"Aurorus is a very powerful Pokémon, Niko. You should feel proud of yourself for raising one," he turned to Aurorus, and then back to Niko again. "I have a solution to your problem, should you choose to take it."

"I'm all ears," Niko said, "and so is Aurorus."

* * *

"Wait…what!?" Warren said. "Repeat that for me."

"Wulfric is going to take Aurorus," Niko said. He then explained the reasoning behind it again, just to make sure his friend understood.

"That's for the best, to be sure," Charlotte said calmly while she continued sketching something on her bed. It was the morning following Amaura's evolution. When Niko arrived back at the Pokémon Center, he found his friends sitting on their beds, as if they were waiting for him. Turns out, they were—at least, Warren expressed that he was.

"If I ever need Aurorus, for a gym battle or the Kalos League, Wulfric will send her back to me," Niko added. "I think it's for the best. Wulfric understands ice type Pokémon quite well, and has a small village of Pokémon that he tends to near Snowbelle City, where he's from."

"Alright, that makes sense," Warren said, seeming melancholic for a moment. "When are you taking Aurorus to Wulfric?"

"Whenever we leave Dendemille Town," Niko added before turning to Charlotte. "Is there anything else we're planning on doing here?"

"Not really," Charlotte said as she put away her sketchbook and began packing her bags. "We can stop by Wulfric's first and then leave for Anistar City."

Niko nodded, and within minutes the three of them were packed and ready to go. They walked north to Wulfric's small home and rapped on the door once again. In place of the door Wulfric appeared with a sunnier expression than the first time Niko had met him, not even a day previous.

"Here to drop Aurorus off?" he asked.

"Yes, but first," Niko said, throwing out four other pokéballs in addition to Aurorus', "I want her to say good-bye to her friends," Charlotte and Warren nodded, also sending out their Pokémon. "Guys…Aurorus has to leave us for the time being," Niko said before, once again, explaining his Pokémon's condition. Each of his team members—Quilladin, Fletchinder, Slurpuff, and Clauncher—all looked up at the massive Aurorus with a mixture of awe and sadness.

When Niko finished, the four of them walked up to Aurorus and hugged her. Fletchinder sat atop her head and nuzzled her head on Aurorus'. Of Charlotte's and Warren's Pokémon, Frillish and Leavanny were really the only ones to show any outbreak of emotion, both tearing up a little.

"Don't worry guys—Aurorus will be back whenever I need her for a battle. And she'll be there when we reach the Kalos League. And, if we ever stop through Snowbelle City, we can meet up with her again!"

"You _will_ be stopping through Snowbelle City, I can assure you of that," Wulfric said with a wink.

"Of course," Niko said with a smile. He then handed Aurorus' pokéball to Wulfric before turning to his Pokémon. "Aurorus…I guess this is good-bye, for now."

The Tundra Pokémon looked down at him and, teary-eyed, leaned forward to nuzzle Niko's head with her own. He felt her chilling touch rub against his and, for a moment, he felt one with her. But it was time to go. He needed to continue his journey, and she needed to stay cold.

"I'll miss you, Aurorus," Niko said, "and I already can't wait to see you next time."

Aurorus nodded, as she rose back up and cried out to the morning sky. Suddenly, small auroras began to appear above them.

"Thanks again, Wulfric," Niko said, reaching his hand out to shake the old man's.

"No problem. Your Aurorus is in good hands," Wulfric replied. "Best of luck in Anistar City."

Niko nodded and, with Charlotte and Warren beside him, continued his journey on to Anistar City. He did, however, feel a little emptier.


	34. Lost in the blizzard

**Episode 34: Lost in the blizzard**

Niko missed Aurorus, and more than he had originally thought. He tried his best not to show it, but it was clear to Warren and Charlotte that he was having difficulty doing so. His Pokémon also found it difficult, and their training over the following few days felt hollow. There was no longer the bright and cheerful Amaura running around, playing rock-catch with Frillish, or chasing around Quilladin and Larvitar-turned-Pupitar.

It took Niko some time for him to realize how big the choice he made was. It wasn't that Aurorus was staying with Wulfric for a couple days or weeks. No, it was _forever_. Or, at least until Niko found a way to keep her close by. Whatever that meant.

Meanwhile, his relationship with Charlotte wasn't getting much easier. She still talked to him, albeit slightly more due to his parting of ways with Aurorus. By this point, the schism in their relationship seemed more about a battle of wills than an argument between friends. Niko and Charlotte were, at their hearts, more stubborn people than they let on. They knew this about one another, too—but that didn't help things.

The road to Anistar City took the trio through a mountain range—route 17. After a few days, it seemed like it was starting to get much colder and, on their third day out from Dendemille Town, it began to snow heavily. Niko hated this—it meant that he could have kept Aurorus, but it's not like he knew that it was going to snow. Nevertheless, shrouded in regret, he trudged on.

That same day, they noticed a log cabin off in the distance. Cold, and in need of some warm food, the trio approached it, noticing a familiar green-haired trainer exit the cabin at the same time.

"Niko!" Wally shouted as he quickly trudged through the snow to meet his old friend. "How're you doing?"

"Hey Wally! Cold, but alright. How about you?"

"Couldn't be better! Off to Anistar City for my next gym battle. You?"

"Same here, actually! Charlotte and I are going for our seventh badge."

"Oh! This'll be my sixth!" Wally then reached into his bag and pulled out a badge case that was missing three. In the case, niko noticed a badge that looked akin to an iceberg. "I've heard the road up ahead is pretty treacherous, and so they recommend we ride mamoswine through it."

"Mamoswine?" Niko repeated. He remembered seeing some of them before, but it had been a long time. "Great! We're heading this way too."

"Wanna go together!?" Wally said. "They recommend two people per Mamoswine anyways!"

"I like that idea," Niko said. "Want to ride together?"

"Actually," Warren said, butting in, "I think I'll go with Wally. I want to get to know him better, you know?" he said, edging his way in between the two rivals. Realizing what this meant, Niko sighed heavily, and turned to Charlotte.

"Let's do this," she said plainly, and walked towards the cabin, the three boys following behind. They walked into the cabin, which was actually just a Pokémon Center with an auxiliary area to keep the Mamoswine. It didn't take long to get set up with them—each Mamoswine had two-seat saddles on their backs. The person in front would direct the movements of the mamoswine, and the person in back would simply sit and watch. To start, Niko would direct his mamoswine, and Warren would direct his, with Charlotte and Wally sitting in the back, respectively.

To begin, the two camps went side by side, with Niko and Wally chatting and trying to catch up, while Charlotte remained silent and Warren remained interested in their conversation, butting in whenever he felt was necessary. As it turned out, Wally had gotten better at mega evolution with his Gallade, and managed to successfully use it in his battle in Lumiose City.

"Did you battle Clembot?" Niko asked across the space between the mamoswine.

"Yeah! The gym leader was a robot!" Wally said excitedly. "I didn't know that was a thing!"

"Us neither…" Charlotte said, seemingly bored. Niko ignored her as they made it to a steep incline.

"Wanna go first?" Niko asked. Warren nodded, and continued going up, albeit slowly so as to not slip and fall backwards on the loose snow. It took them a while, but the two eventually made it up, leaving room for Niko and Charlotte to go next. "Go on ahead, we'll catch up!" Niko said as he noticed Warren and Wally waiting for him.

"You sure?" Warren shouted from the top of the hill.

"Yeah! We'll catch up! Promise!" Niko shouted back. He briefly noticed Warren nod before disappearing over the hilltop. Then, everything went silent, and all Niko could hear was the grunting and heavy breathing of the mamoswine trudging up the hill.

By the time they got up to the top, Warren and Wally were nowhere to be seen. Trusting that they had gone in a straight forward direction, Niko directed the mamoswine to continue moving onwards. By the time they got midway back down the hill, Niko stopped mamoswine to take another look. No one in sight.

"Are you sure you know where we're going?" Charlotte said lazily.

"Yeah, pretty sure. Straight, right?"

"No clue."

"Gee, thanks for the help partner."

"No problem. Guess I'm useful for something, right?"

"Okay, no need for sass, Charlotte," Niko said as he kept moving mamoswine forward.

"Sass? There's no sass!"

"Uh, yeah, that was. It's fine, though, I get that you're still mad at me for no reason," Niko said in a passive aggressive tone. He could tell Charlotte wanted to say something, but held her tongue and sat back in her seat, quietly watching them move through the heavy snow. By the time they reached the bottom of the hill, they had made it to a ravine with a bridge nearly half a mile away. Taking a deep breath, Niko continued on with mamoswine, trying to ignore how high up they were. As they walked over the bridge, his arms and hands began to shake, but he kept looking forward, trying to not look down.

"You're scared of heights, aren't you?" Charlotte asked in the most sympathetic tone Niko had heard in days. In response, Niko gulped and nodded, not moving his head in any other direction. "Didn't know that about you. Hmm."

"'Hmm' what?" Niko asked, again without moving his head.

"I'm just thinking, Niko," Charlotte said sternly. "No need to get paranoid about it."

"Okay, listen!" Niko said, quickly moving his head around to look at her, and nearly directing mamoswine to fall off of the bridge. Fortunately for them, the mamoswine wasn't some sort of robot—it knew falling meant certain death, and preferred not to flirt with that at all.

"Before you tell me to listen, you should try focusing on where you're going," Charlotte said in a matter-of-fact tone, pointing forward. Niko slowly turned back around, his cheeks bright red, and continued on, ignoring both the height and Charlotte.

"I don't even get why you're so mad at me…" Niko said quietly as they got over the bridge. He looked down at mamoswine's brown fur, his face contorted into a frown. "I didn't do anything wrong."

"You insisted that I wasn't capable of finding someone. It hurt."

"Yes, but…" Niko paused. Not only did he realize Charlotte was correct, he also had no idea where to go. He perked up and looked around confused. "Umm…"

"We're lost, aren't we?"

"Yep."

"Perfect. Just perfect, Niko."

"Okay, just stop with the attitude for a moment. We need to find our way through this."

"I'll stop when you apologize!"

"APOLOGIZE FOR WHAT? ACCIDENTALLY HURTING YOUR DAMN FEELINGS?" Niko shouted. "Charlotte! We're LOST! Get over yourself!"

Charlotte looked away, her upper face glistening. Suddenly Niko felt bad—he really her this time. "Look, I—"

"Just get us out of here. Please," she said softly.

Niko said nothing, and continued on their way through the snow. After nearly an hour of searching, he found nothing. The sun was setting, and it began to snow again. At first, Niko didn't mind the soft, light snowflakes colliding with his body. However, after another hour of searching, it started to pick up, this time to the point where it was difficult to see.

This is when Niko began to panic, although he didn't show it. He didn't want to accidentally say something to Charlotte that he'd regret. Thinking on his feet, he told mamoswine to find the closest cave, since the Twin Tusk Pokémon could likely see better in the snow than he could. It didn't take long, and the three of them found a small enclave in a nearby mountain to rest in for the duration of the storm.

* * *

It took Wally a while to realize that Niko and Charlotte were no longer with them. When he turned back and noticed no one was behind him, he looked at Warren and presented his partner with the problem.

"Dammit," Warren said, lightly rapping mamoswine's head in frustration. "I shouldn't have let those two be together. That was my fault."

"Wait, you did that on purpose?" Wally asked.

"Yeah. Don't get me wrong—you're a cool guy, and I'd love to get to know you better, but I wanted those two to be alone for a moment. They're kinda having a fight right now."

"Oh? What about?" Wally asked. Warren then explained to him the story of their trip to Weston Hotel, and the small argument the three of them had over Aaron. The entire time, Wally's eyebrows were raised. "That's really no reason to stay mad."

"Well, guess they're both stubborn people. Thing is, they both like each other, but they just don't realize it yet," Warren said as he kept his eyes on the path in front of him.

"I can see it. I briefly noticed it last time. Damn, Niko had solid taste in women."

"Does he now?" Warren inquired curiously.

"Yeah, back in Hoenn he liked this one girl named Melinda. They were rivals, too, just like he and I are. But she didn't seem to reciprocate those feelings, and he seemed hurt by it. I don't know Niko's love life—I don't know that much about him, admittedly—but I can see him and Charlotte being together. They seem to compliment each other well. You'd know that better than I would, though."

"I think so. They're just so oblivious…and stubborn."

"Hopefully they find their way. Through here, and in their love life," Wally said with a slight laugh. However, it didn't seem like Warren reciprocated it, as he stopped their mamoswine and looked down. Immediately, he dismounted the Twin Tusk Pokémon and ran through the heavy snow as it was beginning to pick up. "What's that?"

Close to the surface lay two light brown curves sticking out of the snow. Just in front of them was a light brown nose with an orange spot directly on top of it. When Warren wiped the snow off of the thing, it revealed a small, feline Pokémon. It had mostly dark brown fur with pale brown paws, ears, tail tip, and face. Its eyes, slowly opening, were circular in shape with black irises and white pupils and sclera. A reddish-orange tuft of fur sat between their ears. Its tail ended in a pointed, teardrop shape.

"What is it…?" Wally said, pulling out a green pokédex:

" _Litleo, the Lion Cub Pokémon. Fire and normal type. They set off on their own from their pride and live by themselves to become stronger. These hot-blooded Pokémon are quick to fight_."

"What's a Pokémon like this doing out here?" Wally said curiously. "Shouldn't…I've seen these Pokémon near Santalune City. What's it doing out here?"

"No idea. Either way, we need to get it out of this weather. Wally, we need to find a cave nearby," Warren said urgently.

"Got it. Swoobat, come on out!" Wally shouted, summoning a familiar-looking bat Pokémon. "Can you use your echolocation to help us find a cave?" the Courting Pokémon nodded, and began flying around in search of a place to stay. It eventually stopped in midair, and then pointed Wally, Warren, the litleo, and mamoswine in the right direction.

* * *

Charlotte immediately went as far back into the cave as she could, and summoned Braixen to heat up the place. Niko did the same with Fletchinder, and together with mamoswine the five of them sat there surrounded by a fire.

"How long will we be here?" Charlotte wondered aloud.

"Until the blizzard lets up," Niko said, not realizing how obvious it sounded.

"Yeah, I got that," Charlotte said in a mocking tone. "I was talking aloud."

"Sorry, didn't realize that," Niko said, shrugging his shoulders. He looked away from Charlotte and back into the blizzard raging outside. It reminded him of the last night he with Amaura, before she evolved into Aurorus. He took a heavy breath of cold air and exhaled loudly. "It's still freaking cold."

"Y-yeah, I kn-now…" Charlotte said as Braixen got closer to her, cuddling up with her trainer.

"I can see that," Niko then looked at Fletchinder, and nodded towards Charlotte. The Ember Pokémon nodded, and fluttered over, resting up against the short, brunette girl in a pale green snow jacket. "Better?"

"A little, thanks," Charlotte said, holding her arms around her knees in a sort of upright fetal position. "Look, Niko…I'm really sorry."

"Yeah?" Niko said, continuing to look out to the blizzard. In that moment, all he wanted to do was embrace her, make her feel warmer, express his still-confused feelings for her. But he didn't—he restrained himself. He didn't know what was the right course of action, and inaction seemed more attractive in the haze of mixed emotions that was his mind.

"Yes, I'm really sorry. I wanted to work this out with you earlier, but I didn't think you wanted to. This was all a mess, and over nothing. I…I guess I just don't know how to deal with arguments well."

"Turns out, neither do I," Niko said, a slight smirk marking the edge of his mouth. "I rarely had arguments with my friends before I met you and Warren. And when we did fight, it wasn't easy. Plus, I figure that I'm a stubborn person, and maybe I just subconsciously didn't want to admit I was wrong. But…I'm also sorry."

"I know you are. That sounds pretentious, but I could tell you felt bad. It was an accident, and honestly it hardly hurt in retrospect. I was just confused, that's all."

"Confused about that skater guy? Aaron?"

"No!" Charlotte said with a bright laugh. "No…I barely know him! Why would I like someone I barely know?"

"We're talking about you liking someone?" Niko said. He was now looking directly at Charlotte, and away from the cave's entrance. Suddenly, her cheeks turned red, as if she was about to let out a big secret. Niko smirked, understanding this first. "Ah."

"What?"

"Oh, nothing," Niko said as he turned away again, now to observe mamoswine sleeping soundly.

"Tell me!" Charlotte begged.

"I don't really need to. We both know."

Then an eerie silence broke around them. Niko, Charlotte, Braixen, and Fletchinder all ceased making any sort of sound. Then, minutes later, Niko heard a shuffling nearby and suddenly felt a small body nearly tackle him to the ground. Looking over to his left, he saw Charlotte holding onto him, her face buried in his armpit. She then mumbled something that Niko didn't quite catch.

"What was that?"

"Nothing, it's fine," Charlotte lifted her face out from Niko's chest and leaned up against him. Instinctively, Niko placed his left arm around her and pulled her in close. "I think it's just better for us to stay close together. You know, body heat."

"Right," Niko said softly. "Body heat."

Realizing this wasn't enough, Fletchinder sat in between them, her body slightly glowing. Braixen sat next to Charlotte, occasionally lighting and re-lighting a fire nearby them.

* * *

Warren and Wally finally reached the cave, and immediately Warren placed the litleo down on the ground and turned to Wally. "Do you own a fire type? At all?"

"Would a Simisear work?" Wally asked.

"Yes, absolutely."

"Simisear, I choose you!" Wally shouted, throwing a great ball onto the ground. "Use flame burst on the ground right…there!" he said, pointing to a spot in the middle of the cave. The primate Ember Pokémon opened its mouth and spit out a ball of fire that, upon collision with the cave floor, burst into smaller embers that scattered around, not only lighting up the place but warming it up briefly. Wally then opened up his pack and seemed to be making something with a bag, a thermos, and his Simisear.

"What're you…?"

"Litleo is a fire type, right?" Wally said, handing Warren the thermos. "Have it drink this when it wakes up. It's a tea specially made for fire types. Simisear loves it," the primate Pokémon nodded eagerly. Warren looked at the closed thermos, and then at the litleo, and nodded. Now it was a waiting game.

Fortunately, they didn't have to wait too long, since litleo woke up within the hour, and was clearly dazed and confused when it did so.

"Hi litleo. My name is Warren. This is my friend Wally, and that's his Pokémon, Simisear. We found you stranded in the snow, and brought you here so you could properly rest up," Warren said in a light, sing-song sort of voice. "Wally prepared this tea specifically for you. He says it'll help you feel better. Sound good?"

Litleo nodded, and while Warren held the brown feline Pokémon in his arms, he placed the thermos up to litleo's mouth and allowed the Lion Cub Pokémon to quickly sip from the thermos, seemingly without any issues.

"There ya go," Warren said, taking the thermos from litleo and giving it back to Wally. "Thanks bud. Now, I guess we just wait out this storm, right?" Warren said before examining litleo once more. "Oh! Looks like you've got a bruise there," he lightly touched it, noticing the litleo wincing slightly. "Alright, I've got just the thing. Leavanny, I choose you!"

Warren instructed the Nurturing Pokémon to help him out, wrapping up litleo's leg in silk to help keep the bruise from open contact with the environment. It took the Lion Cub Pokémon a few minutes to adjust to the wrapping, but it eventually seemed to get the hang of it. Meanwhile, Warren and Wally sat and watched the three Pokémon get to know each other, eventually crashing near their mamoswine, who was already fast asleep.

"Hopefully Niko and Charlotte made it out of this blizzard," Warren said. "Otherwise they're screwed."

"Why? Because they're not talking to each other?" Warren nodded. "I see."

"So, Wally, what's Hoenn like?" Warren asked.

"It's beautiful! Temperate weather for the most part. If you like the ocean, then you'll love it. Why do you ask?"

"I was thinking of visiting it one day. Any recommendations on where I should go?"

"Either Slateport City or Mossdeep City. Mossdeep is nice because that's where the space center is."

Warren nodded, leaning back. He fell asleep shortly after.

* * *

 _"_ _And the victory goes to…Niko from Pallet Town!" the referee declared. "The next champion of the Kalos League!"_

Niko woke up with a jolt. Looking around, he saw Charlotte making something to eat with a fire created by Braixen and Fletchinder. Mamoswine, also awake, was sitting nearby watching them.

"Good morning, Niko," Charlotte said pleasantly. "Sleep well?"

"Yes…and no," Niko said as he sat up, still in a daze. "How long were we asleep?"

"Well, considering its now light outside…probably all night. We need to get going soon."

"Oh dear, what if Warren and Wally are already on the other side? What if they've sent people looking for us? What if they've begun to assume the worst?"

"Then we'll prove them wrong," Charlotte said simply, "let's just get going and hope for the best, alright?"

Niko nodded, and mounted mamoswine with Charlotte sitting behind, eating some sort of wrapped food that she would occasionally offer to Niko on their journey. To help aid them, Niko asked Fletchinder to fly forward and see if she could find a path for them. As it turned out, she did, and within an hour they made it out of the snow. A log cabin, similar to the one they had rented the mamoswine from, appeared on the horizon.

"Look! Hopefully Warren and Wally are waiting there!" Niko shouted, pointing to the cabin. He directed mamoswine to go in that direction, and the Twin Tusks Pokémon moved faster than usual, to the point where it was nearly running down the road to the cabin. By the time they made it, dismounted, and entered the cabin, no one was there. At least, no one that they knew. "What…?" Niko said, looking around in dismay. "Where are Warren and—"

"Niko, look," Charlotte said, pointing back outside. There, not far from the cabin, were Warren, Wally, the mamoswine they road, and a smaller, cat-like Pokémon sitting on the ground in front of Warren.

"Alright litleo, we're out of the snow. You can go back home now, wherever that is," Warren said as he was crouched down in front of the Lion Cub Pokémon. Instead of turning to leave, it simply sat there purring. Warren then heard his name. turning and looking up, he saw Niko and Charlotte running towards him. "You made it!" Warren shouted, jumping up to hug his friends. "Thank goodness. When'd you get here?"

"Just now. You?" Niko asked.

"Same here. Phew…I was scared for you two," Warren said. "Oh Niko, Charlotte, we found this litleo trapped in the blizzard. Litleo, these are my friends."

Niko and Charlotte greeted the small cub before turning to Wally and speaking with him. Meanwhile, Warren got back down to tell litleo that it could leave, but it didn't.

"You really can go now, litleo. It's fine," Warren said as he reached down to pet the Pokémon. "You're safe, that's what matters."

"I think litleo wants to go with you, Warren," Wally said. "After all, you saved it and brought it back to good health."

"Is that true, litleo? Do you want to join me?" Warren said. When litleo nodded, he smirked. "I've always wanted a cat," he then pulled out a pokéball and pressed it against litleo's nose. The Lion Cub Pokémon immediately went inside and wiggled around in the ball before the latter clicked, indicating a successful capture.

"Congrats, Warren! Now you've got another training partner!" Niko said, slapping his friend on the back.

"I've just got another friend, Niko," Warren added. "That's what really matters, right?"

Niko nodded. If the past day had taught them anything, it's that friendship can weather any challenge in their way. He felt that way about Charlotte, and now Warren felt that way about it his new litleo.


	35. Striking a path with starlight!

**Episode 35: Striking a path with starlight!**

The trio—plus Wally—made it to Anistar City a few days after Warren caught Litleo. The first thing they noticed was the massive pink crystal sitting in the water on the edge of the bay. Intrigued, Niko and his friends immediately went there to view it.

"What…is it…?" Wally asked.

"It's the sundial," Charlotte said, her guidebook out and opened to the section on Anistar City. "Supposedly it's a large meteor from outer space, and possesses energy akin to mega evolution."

"Really now?" Niko said, pulling out his pendant from his bag. "What if…" he approached the Sundial and lifted the pendant up towards it, the Key Stone shimmering in the midday sun. Visually, nothing happened, but Niko felt a slight rush of energy flowing through him. He suddenly felt more confident, for some reason. More…powerful.

"Anything?" Warren asked.

"Not really. I felt something, but it was faint," Niko said, putting his pendant away. "Let's head off to the gym, unless you three are hungry first."

As it turned out, they all were. After grabbing some food, they went to set up their lodging in the local Pokémon Center, where Niko immediately went to make a call while his friends unpacked their things. When he finally arrived in his room to put down his bags, all three of his friends looked at him curiously. Anticipating their questions, Niko simply smirked.

"Just had to make a call to a friend, that's all," he declared.

They then made their way to the Anistar City Gym. It was in the southern part of the city, away from the downtown area. The gym itself was a domed building with several gold ring-like structures running around it, including one on the roof of the building. As they approached, a woman in dark clothes and purple hair pulled back in a ponytail stopped them.

"Excuse me, where are you going?" she demanded.

"We're here to challenge the Anistar City Gym."

"Names?"

"I'm Niko, and this is Charlotte."

"Hmm," the woman grabbed Niko's palm and, closing her eyes, stood there for several moments before nodding. "Your intentions are pure. You may enter," she said after reading Niko's palm. She then read Charlotte's, Warren's, and Wally's, and permitted each of them to enter. The woman then followed them inside, closing the doors to the gym behind her.

The inside of the gym was incredible. It was dome-shaped, just like the outside of the building, and looked like the inside of a planetarium, with stars and galaxies littered across the sky. The golden rings moved along the edges of the dome in a slow, rhythmic motion. The floor of the room was teal-colored and transparent, and Niko could see gears of various sizes revolving underneath him.

"This place is incredible!" Wally said in awe. "I've…I've never seen anything like it!"

"It is wonderful," Charlotte concurred, a bright smile across her face. Suddenly, they heard a booming voice echo from above. Looking up, they saw a woman descending from above them. She was a dark-skinned woman with curled purple hair and violet eyes. She had a pair of star-styled earrings, a black suit with a steel color on her shoulders, two rings around her arms, and grey ballet-like shoes. Her most prominent feature, however, was her silver cape with a star pattern underneath, akin to the inside of the dome.

The woman landed on the floor and eyed Niko and Charlotte for a moment. "I foresaw your arrival, Niko of Pallet Town and Charlotte of Castelia City," the two trainers, confused and slightly afraid, didn't say anything in return. "You are both here to challenge the gym leader of Anistar City, as are you, Wally of Petalburg City."

"Yes, I-I am," Wally said, equally frightened.

"Are you the gym leader?" Niko asked.

"Yes. I am Olympia. I…I see your future, both of you. If you can defeat me, I will display it for you." Olympia looked at the three of them. "Who will be first?"

"I'll go first," Charlotte said, stepping forward. She clutched her handbag tightly, intimidated by Olympia standing in front of her. Niko, Warren, and Wally all moved to the edge of the field, finding their way onto one of the golden rings, which acted as the stands for the battle. The same woman who greeted them stood as a referee.

"Charlene, my assistant, will judge this match," Olympia began. "I conduct my gym battles in a different way than most. It will be a two-part battle—first, a one-versus-one battle, and then a double battle. To earn the badge, you must defeat all of my Pokémon. Are we clear?"

"Yes!" Charlotte shouted, a pokéball in hand.

Olympia nodded. "Then let us see if what I foresaw is correct—slowking, I choose you!"

"Slowking?" Charlotte said, pulling out her pokédex before summoning her own Pokémon.

" _Slowking, the Royal Pokémon. Water and psychic type. It has incredible intellect and intuition. Whatever the situation, it remains calm and collected_."

"Sawsbuck, I choose you!" Charlotte shouted. "Let's start off with energy ball!"

"Slowking, calm mind," Olympia said in a deep tone. Slowking closed its eyes and took the energy ball to the chest, however it hardly seemed to faze it. "Now, psychic!" Sawsbuck suddenly felt himself lift off of the ground, and he jerked around in the air before he was flung to the side of the battlefield. "Power gem!" Slowking then fired off pink and purple gems at Sawsbuck, who was knocked backwards on the field. Slowly, he got back up and wobbled a little before standing straight up.

"Keep going, Sawsbuck, we can do this!" Charlotte shouted. The Season Pokémon nodded. "Sawsbuck, use faint attack!"

Sawsbuck charged forward, galloping across the transparent battlefield, dodging the power gem before disappearing and reappearing behind slowking. Sawsbuck then rammed his antlers into the Royal Pokémon, knocking it forward.

"Energy ball!" Charlotte commanded.

"Calm mind, and then psychic!" Olympia commanded. However, slowking was hit with the energy ball and knocked onto its back, unable to use calm mind. It did manage, just before energy ball hit, to throw Sawsbuck backwards with psychic. The Season Pokémon hit an invisible wall—presumably to keep Pokémon from falling off of the field and into the gears below—and landed near Olympia.

"Sawsbuck, faint attack!" Charlotte commanded. The Season Pokémon got back up, again slowly, and disappeared into thin air, only to reappear and slam into Slowking again. "Now, horn leech!"

Sawsbuck's horns burst into a light green color, and he slammed them down on slowking, quickly sapping its strength before firing off an energy ball up close. Slowking was rocketed backwards, towards Olympia, before coming to a halt at the edge of the battlefield, unable to move.

"Slowking is unable to battle, Sawsbuck is the winner!" Charlene declared. "The first part of the battle between challenger Charlotte and Leader Olympia has concluded. Both trainers may now switch out their Pokémon."

 _Now it's a double battle, right?_ Charlotte thought to herself, _I've never done one of these before…who should I use? What will Olympia use?_ "Sawsbuck, you did great! Please return!" Charlotte then reached into her handbag and pulled out two other pokéballs. Olympia, somehow, withdrew two more pokéballs, and floated them in the air around her using psychic energy.

"Meowstic, you're up!" Olympia shouted, summoning two bipedal, feline Pokémon—one was primarily dark blue with accentuations of white fur on its ears, hands, feet, tail, and head, and the other was the reverse, with primarily white fur and dark blue accentuations.

" _Meowstic, the Constraint Pokémon. Psychic type. The eyeball pattern on the interior of its ears emit psychic energy. It keeps the patterns tightly covered because that power is too immense_ ," Niko's pokédex read.

"I've heard meowstic look different depending on their gender," Wally observed, clutching his own handbag. "The dark blue one is male, and the white one is female."

"Interesting. I wonder who Charlotte will use…" Niko thought aloud.

"Frillish and Pupitar, I choose you!" Charlotte shouted. "Use ominous wind and rock slide!"

"Meowstic, thunderwave on Frillish, and psyshock on Pupitar!" Olympia commanded. The dark blue Meowstic opened its ears and emitted small spheres of psychic energy, firing them at Pupitar, who attempted to repel the move with rock slide but failed, and got hit by the vicious psychic attack. Meanwhile, the other meowstic emitted small electric sparks from her ears, only to be blown away by Frillish's purple gust of wind.

"Frillish, use hex on the white meowstic!" Charlotte commanded. Before she could, however, meowstic managed to succeed in using thunder wave, temporarily paralyzing the pink Floating Pokémon. "Pupitar, assist Frillish and use dark pulse!" she shouted, only to realize the Hard Shell Pokémon was locked in her own battle with the other meowstic. _I didn't realize…I need to start paying attention to both of them. That's what Niko told me_. "Pupitar, use rock slide to cover yourself, and get in front of Frillish!"

"Yeah, that's right," Niko said, "teamwork."

Pupitar created an avalanche of rocks falling from midair to cover him while he shifted around the battlefield towards Frillish, who was still struggling to move. Then, on Charlotte's command, Pupitar used dark pulse to hit the male meowstic, knocking him to the ground but taking a psyshock in return from the female one. Then, Frillish started to move once more, slowly getting back up and firing off a hex at the female meowstic. They were back in it.

"Frillish, water pulse! Pupitar, use iron head!" Charlotte commanded. However, she once again underestimated Pupitar's speed and, unfortunately, watched one of her Pokémon get hit by the other's attack. Pupitar took the water pulse and crashed into the ground, giving both meowstic a chance to get back up and fire off a thunder wave and psyshock at Frillish, once more paralyzing her. _DAMMIT!_

"Uh-oh…" Niko said softly. _You need to work as a team, Charlotte_.

"Pupitar, use dark pulse!" she shouted, but to no avail. The Hard Shell Pokémon that thrown to the side by the male meowstic's psychic attack, and then battered by the female's psyshock. She grit her teeth.

"Future sight!" Olympia commanded. The female meowstic threw electrified psychic energy into four wormholes above her. Charlotte watched them disappear, and gulped silently, primarily out of fear. She knew that attack would come back, but she had no idea when—or how. Meanwhile, Pupitar took most of the hits from the meowstic while Frillish tried to recover from her paralysis.

"Pupitar, dark pulse!" Charlotte kept commanding. Each time the Hard Shell Pokémon tried to attack, he would either get hit in the process or take an attack and miss his own. The entire time, Charlotte was struggling to come up with a solution. Frillish was just now recovering, and Pupitar couldn't take many more hits.

"Meowstic, light screen and dark pulse!" Olympia commanded.

"Pupitar, dark pulse of your own!" Charlotte commanded. Her luck seemed to change when both dark pulses collided in the middle of the field, creating a small explosion in midair and damaging neither Pokémon in the process. "Now, rock slide!" she noticed Frillish getting back up. "And use hex, too!"

A purple and black sphere flew through the avalanche of rocks, hitting the female meowstic in the chest while the male meowstic attempted to block the rock slide. Suddenly, it got shot in the face by a dark pulse from Pupitar, knocking both of the meowstic to the ground.

"Yes! Good job, both of you!" Charlotte shouted. "Now—"

Suddenly, psychic energy in the shape of small rocks fell out of the sky and hit Pupitar, knocking him out immediately. Charlotte's eyes widened—she was now only down to one Pokémon.

"PUPITAR!"

"Pupitar is unable to battle!" Charlene declared.

"Fr-Frillish…we can do this, right?" Charlotte asked. Her confidence was completely shaken at this point. She didn't know what to do, other than return her defeated Pokémon. Neither meowstic had taken a lot of damage, and Frillish had taken quite a bit already. _No, we can do this. We CAN!_ "Frillish, use ominous wind!"

"Meowstic! Light screen and future sight!" Olympia commanded. Frillish blew away the thunder wave and hit the light screen, and therefore not harming the Meowstic in the process. She then struck another light screen appearance, forcing the wind to bounce off of it. "Dark pulse!"

"Frillish, block it with hex" Charlotte commanded. The pink Floating Pokémon spun through the air to evade the nexus of dark energy and fire off her own blast of energy, striking the male meowstic and forcing him to the ground. "Now, water pulse that same one!"

"Light screen and psyshock!" Olympia commanded, but Frillish was faster. She evaded the psyshock and created and quickly threw a powerful water pulse at her opponent, bursting through the light screen and hitting the male meowstic directly in the face. It fell forward, smoke emitting from the front of its body.

"Meowstic is unable to battle!" Charlene declared.

"Meowstic!" Olympia said sternly to her remaining Constraint Pokémon. "Use dark pulse!"

"Water pulse in retaliation!" Charlotte commanded. Once those two attacks met with one another, she thrust a fist forward. "Now, use hex!"

"FRILLLLLLLLL!" Frillish shouted, raising her tentacles to conjure the purple and black sphere. "ISH!" she threw the hex as she descended towards the field, taking a dark pulse to the chest as the attack fell towards the female meowstic. Both Pokémon collapse towards the ground, and it just happened that the meowstic hit first, and then Frillish, who slowly struggled to get back up while Charlene tried to make a call.

"Umm…" she said, her wide eyes blinking, "meowstic is unable to battle, and Frillish is the winner! The victory goes to Charlotte from Castelia City!"

Charlotte's mouth dropped. While she picked up back up, Frillish floated back over to join her. They managed to beat a powerful gym leader—in a _double_ battle. In the stands on the golden ring, Niko nodded, his arms crossed. _Great job, buddy_.

Charlotte returned Frillish after hugging her, and noticed Olympia float into the air and disappear from the battlefield. She was unsure of where her defeated opponent was going, but didn't seem to care at this point—nothing surprised her, and nothing else mattered other than obtaining her seventh gym badge.

She turned to leave the field, nearly running into Niko in the process. "Oh! Uh, hey…" she said nervously. He then engulfed her in a hug.

"You did great. I'm proud of you," Niko said quietly. Charlotte, taken aback by this at first, warmed up to it, and dug her head into his body.

"And you're going to do great, too," she said just as softly. "Kill it out there, Pokémon Master."

Niko waited a couple of minutes for Olympia to return. When the caped gym leader began to descend once more to the battlefield, Niko readied a pokéball in his hand.

"You!" Olympia's voice echoed through the dome. "I have been waiting for your battle!"

"You…have?" Niko asked curiously.

"Yes. I'm interested in seeing how you fight, given what I see in your future," Olympia said before turning to Charlene. "We are ready."

"R-right!" Charlene replied before explaining the rules of the match. They were identical to Charlotte's, and Niko largely tuned her out. Once she was finished, he was ready, and accordingly threw out a pokéball. But before he did so, Olympia quickly retrieved her own and summoned first.

"Sigilyph, I choose you!" Olympia shouted, sending out the Avianoid Pokémon Niko first saw in the Unova region.

"W-what?" he said, the pokéball in his hand falling out to reveal Quilladin. "O-okay…Quilladin, let's go! Use pin missile!"

"Niko was expecting to fight Slowking, I bet," Charlotte said with a concerned expression.

"Definitely. His Quilladin could sweep the floor with that Pokémon," Warren said with the utmost confidence for his friend. "Go Niko!"

"Sigilyph, light screen!" Olympia commanded, and a barrier appeared in between it and the bright green missiles, effectively blocking the attack. "Now, air slash!"

"Quilladin, block it with pin missile, and then use rollout!" Niko shouted. The Spiny Armor Pokémon obliged, firing off bright green missiles from his heated up spines on his head before breaking into a ball and rolling across the transparent field, charging towards the sigilyph. "Attack!"

"Psychic!" Olympia commanded. Sigilyph's eyes started to glow, and Quilladin felt himself losing control of his body as he was flung across the field and into the invisible wall on the side of the battlefield. "Air slash!"

"Rollout again!" Niko shouted when Quilladin crashed into the floor. He shook his head, clearly in a daze, and broke into another ball, spinning across the floor and dodging the air slash. "Run up along the wall on the side of the battlefield!"

"What!?" Warren and Wally said simultaneously.

"Oh, please, don't act like you aren't surprised," Charlotte said with a smirk. _That's my Niko_.

Quilladin hit the edge of the battlefield and ultimately spun fast enough along the ground that he carried himself into the air, attaching himself to the wall like a magnet. He rode along the wall, on the side of the battlefield and then above Olympia herself. The entire time sigilyph was firing off air slashes and psybeams, each of which missed. Quilladin then used the momentum he gained and broke out of his roll, jumped on the side of the invisible wall, and rocketed himself into sigilyph.

"Pin missile!" Niko shouted. While holding on to the Avianoid Pokémon, Quilladin fired off hot, bright green missiles from atop his head, striking it and causing them both to fall. "Let go and use rollout!"

Quilladin jumped off of the falling sigilyph and broke into a ball, launching himself down into his opponent, ultimately driving it into the ground. Niko then commanded him to use needle arm, which successfully struck sigilyph in the face. Quilladin jumped off and landed on one knee, exhausted.

"Sigilyph is unable to battle, Quilladin is the winner! And challenger Niko is the winner of the first round of the battle!" Charlene declared.

"Phew," he said, "well done, Quilladin! I was worried there for a moment!" Quilladin turned to Niko and winked, exuding more confidence than usual.

"Sigilyph, return. Well done, Niko. You've exceeded the expectations I foresaw for you. Now, let's see how you deal with these two. Meowstic, you're up!"

"Quilladin, return. You've done well. Aurorus, Clauncher, I choose both of you!" Niko shouted, summoning the Tundra and Water Gun Pokémon.

"So…that's who he was calling," Warren said. "He talked to Wulfric."

"Meowstic, use thunder wave and future sight!" Olympia commanded. The female meowstic conjured electric waves from her ears that ran across the transparent field. They were disrupted by Clauncher's water pulse, which resulted in a quick and powerful explosion that rocked all of them except Aurorus. The Tundra Pokémon, meanwhile, cried out loudly, summoning ancient rocks from thin air and throwing them at the two meowstic, each of whom quickly and agilely evaded them. "Psyshock, both of you!"

"Aurorus, show them what Wulfric has taught you! Use avalanche!"

"Wulfric…?" Olympia said in confusion. "I did not…meowstic, watch out!"

Aurorus roared out loud, her sails glowing a bright white color as massive balls of snow came out of nowhere, landing above the two Constraint Pokémon, burying them within. Clauncher then scuttled across the battlefield and use crabhammer on the first meowstic to appear, slamming his large claw on top of it. However, he took a thunder wave from the other one, and fell onto his back, unable to move due to temporary paralysis.

"Aurorus, defend Clauncher! Use aurora beam on the male meowstic!" Niko commanded, noticing the dark blue feline Pokémon making his way towards the blue crustacean. Aurorus obeyed, firing off a rainbow-color beam of energy at the ground in front of Clauncher, repelling both him and meowstic in opposite directions. "That's alright, we'll take that. Aurorus, use ancientpower again!"

"Meowstic, psyshock, both of you!" Olympia commanded. Aurorus got in front of Clauncher and fired off a series of rocks to beat back the psyshock, albeit with limited success. Aurorus roared out at she took each attack in turn, trying to protect her teammate just as Pupitar had done in the previous battle. Niko bit his finger—he didn't want Aurorus to go down like that.

"Aurorus, use aurora beam! Clauncher—" Niko said, watching the Water Gun Pokémon get back up. "Let's go."

Clauncher nodded, turning to face the meowstic. He hid behind Aurorus, trying to wait for the right moment to strike. Just as he was about to come out, surprise the meowstic, and fire off a mega-launched water pulse, the wormholes opened up, pelting both him and Aurorus with electrified psychic energy. Smoke from the attacks surrounded both of them, and when it dissipated Aurorus was sitting on the ground, trying to get back up. Clauncher, again on his back, wobbled around before forcing himself back onto his feet.

Niko bit his finger again, as he always did when he got nervous. _Alright, no more playing around. Let's win this_. "Aurorus, Clauncher, we're almost there! Just a little bit more, alright?"

His two Pokémon eventually got back up, staring down the two meowstic who, by comparison, hardly seemed fazed by the attacks hurled at them. Aurorus and Clauncher fired off an aurora beam and water pulse simultaneously, forcing the meowstic to leap into the air to dodge. Niko then commanded Aurorus to use avalanche, and for Clauncher to get on her back and climb her long neck to the top.

"What's he doing…?" Warren asked. Wally's eyes sparkled with inspiration.

"Oh, he's trying to replicate what he did with his last gym leader double battle," the green-haired trainer said excitedly.

"Clauncher, now!" Niko shouted. The Water Gun Pokémon leapt high into the air and, while the meowstic were distracted by avalanche and the incoming ancientpower, fired off two water pulses in quick succession, hitting each meowstic in the chest and knocking them to the ground amidst the snow and ancient rocks. "Aurorus, aurora beam!" The Tundra Pokémon fired off an aurora beam at the feet of the two meowstic. "Clauncher, crabhammer the male meowstic!" Clauncher quickly descended to the ground, his large claw glowing bright white as he slammed it down onto the dark blue meowstic, knocking it to the ground and out of the battle.

"Meowstic is unable to—" Charlene said, interrupting her declaration to watch Clauncher spin around and fire off another water pulse at the female meowstic, knocking her to the ground as well. "Both meowstic are unable to battle, Aurorus and Clauncher are the winners! The victory goes to Niko from Pallet Town!"

Niko sighed a deep breath of relief. They won. He got down onto one knee to high-five Clauncher's large claw before standing back up and hugging Aurorus. "I've missed you, buddy. Thanks for getting a chance to battle with me."

Aurorus nodded, leaning down and nuzzling the top of his head, giving him a brain freeze. He then noticed Wally, Charlotte, and Warren exit the golden ring they were standing in and approach him. Charlotte and Warren hugged him, and Wally gave him a fist-bump. Olympia, having returned her two meowstics, walked over to Niko and Charlotte, two badges appearing in her hands.

"Here, the Psychic Badge, as proof that you have both defeated me," she said. Niko and Charlotte both took the badge, shaped like a crystal ball emanating smoke. "Now, as promised, I can tell you your future, should you choose to accept it."

Niko thought about this. On one hand, he would like to know what the future had in store for him. For all he knew, this could be just like the seer in Johto that told him and his friends about their futures in very vague terms. Or it could be more specific, and it might affect his outlook on things. Eventually, he nodded. When he did, so did Charlotte.

"Niko…" Olympia closer her eyes and began, albeit slowly, "you will face a great challenge in the near future that will set you on a path few trainers have taken. You will be tested like no other trainer has before, bar one. Lastly, you will find meaning in the smaller, simpler things in life."

"Charlotte, your destiny will become clearer to you sooner than you realize. You, too, will discover the true meaning of life in the smaller, simpler things."

She opened her eyes. "I choose not to provide details to those whose futures I read. But rest assured you two have bright, albeit difficult, futures ahead. Do not squander your talents, for they are all you've got," she turned to Wally, "I understand you wish to challenge me, too?"

"Yes," Wally said confidently. "But I would like a chance to train more before I do."

"Very well. Please come back when you are ready. I can already foresee your arrival," Olympia then turned her backs on them, her silver cape flowing behind her. Taking this as a sign to leave, Niko and his friends did so.

Once they were gone, Olympia gripped her chest. Charlene, who had witnessed this, ran up to her. "Lady Olympia, are you alright?"

"Yes, my dear, I am fine."

"Did you see something in them?"

"No, not just them. I foresaw something terrible happening to this world. But…I cannot predict when."

"No?"

"No. Except…that we are fine for now. That is all," Olympia said, standing straight up as if nothing had ever happened. "I must meditate on this. Please take care of the gym in my absence."

"Will do, Lady Olympia."

* * *

"So, where next for you three?" Wally said as they left the Anistar Gym.

"Not sure yet," Niko said. "Guess we'll have to figure that out before we leave. When are you planning on challenging Olympia, Wally?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe in a couple of days. Why?"

"I wanna watch it," Niko said, making a fist and giving his rival a determined stare.

"Oh! You don't have to stay for that!" Wally said, laughing nervously.

"No, we want to," Charlotte said, agreeing with Niko. "You cheered us on, it's only right that we do the same. Provided, of course, that you're okay with it."

"Of course, I am!" Wally said excitedly. He then grabbed Niko's hand and shook it. "Want to help me train?"

"Of course, Wally! Let's go!" Niko said, and the two broke into a run towards the Pokémon center, followed by Charlotte and Warren, both of whom struggled to keep up with the two eager rivals.


	36. A sixth sense

**Episode 36: A sixth sense**

Over the following couple of days, Niko and Charlotte trained with Wally to help him feel more comfortable in going up against Olympia in what would be his sixth gym battle. This training included the occasional battle, helping his Pokémon learn some different moves, and coming together to work out a strategy for the two-part gym battle.

By the time Wally felt ready, the four of them travelled to the Anistar City Gym a second time. Regaled by the awesome appearance of the gym, Niko and his friend watched Wally take on Olympia's Sigilyph with his Heliolisk, successfully putting down the Avianoid Pokémon with a parabolic charge. When it came to the double battle, Wally tended to do even better. With his Simisear and Florges—a fairy type, flower-like Pokémon with the shape of a mermaid—the green-haired Hoenn native succeeded in winning the Psychic Badge as well.

"Niko, Charlotte, Warren, I really can't think you guys enough," Wally said, hugging each of them. "I _really_ appreciated the help."

"Anytime, Wally. That's what friends are for, right?" Niko said, patting the younger trainer on the shoulder.

"Of course! And if you ever need help, please let me know!" Wally exclaimed excitedly. "So…where're you three going next?"

Charlotte reached for her guidebook and pulled it out, showing a city covered in snow. "Snowbelle City. Apparently, there's a Pokémon gym there."

"It's also where Wulfric lives, so I'll get a chance to see Aurorus again!" Niko said. Within an hour of defeating Olympia, he had taken Aurorus back to the Pokémon Center to send to Wulfric, who was by then back in Snowbelle City. "What about you, Wally?"

"I was thinking Laverre City, but go through Lumiose to get there," he said with a bright smile on his face. "Anyway…thanks again, Niko. I'll see you around!"

"You'll see me at the Kalos League," Niko replied, gripping Wally's hand in a firm handshake. Wally, expressing determination, nodded.

"You bet!"

* * *

The road to Snowbelle City would, according to Charlotte, take a couple of weeks. There was one major town on their way there—Couriway Town—which would take a few days to get to. Route 18—the path they travelled along, was lush and forested, with many rivers flowing through it. During much of their down time, the trio either trained or worked on their individual hobbies while they Pokémon played with one another.

Now that they were approaching their final gym battle in Kalos, Niko took special care to work with his Pokémon. He—with the help of Charlotte's Gogoat—taught Quilladin seed bomb in hopes of giving him another effective grass type move; Fletchinder was working on learning steel wing, a move he had no difficulty teaching his bird Pokémon; Slurpuff was learning a move called cotton guard, which also proved to be easy due to the fact that Niko and his Meringue Pokémon were already subconsciously using the move, only with the name "cotton spore" attached to it; and Clauncher was trying to learn dark pulse, a move that might've made his victory in the Anistar Gym slightly more lopsided.

Of all of the Pokémon, only Clauncher had difficulty with the move. Even with Charlotte's Pupitar helping him, he still couldn't manage to get it right. Dark pulse is essentially a nexus of _dark_ energy. Instead, Clauncher was firing out a nexus of _water_ energy, which made it difficult for him to, well, master the move. Niko chalked it up to the Water Gun Pokémon having difficulty learning moves of a different type, as he knew certain Pokémon had more difficulty with this than others.

Niko also began to wonder if, and when, Fletchinder would evolve. He caught her as a Fletchling within days of arriving in Kalos yet, she quickly evolved into Fletchinder, and has shown no signs of evolving a second time. Niko admittedly had no idea _if_ Fletchinder could evolve, and refused to check the pokédex to verify this, for whatever reason. But it made him wonder—what causes evolution? Is it a sudden burst of newfound energy? Or is it simply a matter of time and natural processes at work? Possibly, Niko thought, it could be a bit of both.

This line of thought drew him to mega evolution, naturally. Mega evolution was a burst of energy, and a temporary one at that. Niko thought of Venusaur, and whether or not he received the gift Niko gave him—a scarf with the Venusaurite on it. He hadn't asked his mother about this, out of fear that his closest Pokémon wouldn't accept the gift. He then wondered if, by the time they got to the Kalos League, it might be worth trying mega evolution a second time. Niko, truthfully, was frightened by the prospects of it, but was willing to give it another shot if Venusaur was ready to, and if he felt like it would help further him in his goal of winning the Kalos League. But ultimately, the decision rested with him and his Pokémon, and no one else.

He also briefly considered the possibility of trying to find another mega stone, and attempt to mega evolve with one of his other Pokémon, like Sceptile or Aggron. Both, to his knowledge, were capable of it, and he had strong enough bonds with both that he could. Niko only wished that Serperior or Feraligatr were capable of it, for he felt like two of his strongest bonds were with them.

Meanwhile, Charlotte worked on teaching her own new sets of moves to her Pokémon. Frillish was learning a move called "wring out," which Charlotte read works well on Pokémon with high stamina, like snorlax. For a Pokémon with tentacles, like Frillish, this move seemed easy enough, however it's effectiveness was limited, mainly to due to the opponent's she tested them out on. In addition, Braixen was trying to figure out the move psyshock, which Charlotte observed carefully during her battle against Olympia. She understood that, with a particular flick of her twig, Braixen could summon the physical, psychic-powered objects required to use the move.

Lastly, Charlotte was trying to get her Smeargle to learn some new moves as well. The Painter Pokémon, not having had a chance to battle in some of the more recent gym fights, seemed down since they had left Anistar City. Charlotte understood this well, and tried to verbally reassure her first Pokémon that she was just as powerful and capable of fighting as all of the others. She reminded the sketching Pokémon that, while the others might be used more often in battle, Smeargle still did, and always would, hold a special place in her heart. While this didn't immediately perk up the normally aloof Smeargle, she did feel better and, throughout their journey to Couriway Town, more willing to train again.

The elephant in the room was, as usual, Niko and Charlotte's relationship dancing. Since reigniting their friendship in the blizzards of route 17, the two tried to figure out where they stood now. However, both largely kept this to themselves, trying to independently answer questions that other people might discuss more openly. They did hint at trying to openly discuss their seemingly confused feelings for one another one a couple occasions, and nearly drove Warren insane one evening when Niko was cooking and Charlotte moved in close to help him out.

"Geez you two, get a room," Warren said as he fed Litleo, who was tired from a day of running around playing with his new friends.

Niko and Charlotte both turned to Warren with confused expressions. "Wha-what?" Niko eventually said.

"You guys are so obvious, and so oblivious," Warren said without looking at his two friends.

"Any idea what he's talking about?" Charlotte asked.

"No clue," Niko said with a smirk, which further enraged their mutual friend.

The following morning, after getting dressed in his lighter travelling clothes—jeans and a light hooded sweater—Niko looked out across the valley they were about to enter. Off in the distance, he could see a cavern with railways leading into it. For whatever reason, he felt drawn to it.

"Hey, guys," Niko said as Warren and Charlotte were both getting dressed—in a forest green jacket and jeans, and a light blue jacket and jeans, respectively. They both looked out to where Niko was pointing, and gave him a curious look.

"What's out there?" Charlotte asked.

"Some sort of cave. I don't know, but it seems worth checking out, if we have the time," Niko said.

"Oh, we definitely do. It'll take a long time to get to Snowbelle City," Charlotte said in a matter-of-fact tone.

By midday, the trio had made it to the cave's entrance. The area surrounding it was littered with minecarts, some tipped over and rusted, some absolutely destroyed, and others looking barely new.

"What is this place?" Warren asked as he eyed a large durant crawl out of one of the minecarts, nearly giving him a heart attack.

"According to my guidebook, this must be Terminus Cave," Charlotte said, "or, at least, one of the entrances to it."

"Terminus Cave?" Niko asked.

"Yep. It used to be a coal mine—hence the rails and minecarts—until rumors of a monster living deep within forced the mining company to close it down."

"Fascinating," Niko said, remembering a brief passage about a cave that looked similar to this in his book on Kalos myths.

"Tell me again— _why_ are we here?" Warren asked.

"I felt…drawn to it, to be honest," Niko said as if he had just woken up.

"Drawn…to…it…?" Charlotte said, repeating each one of Niko's words back to him for clarification. He nodded, which didn't help much. "Okay, that's certainly odd."

"Why don't we go check it out?" Niko asked. He knew this, at least, didn't seem too out of the norm—Niko had bragged his friends into dangerous situations plenty of times before.

"I—I don't know…" Charlotte said.

"Look, if there's any danger then we'll leave, alright?" Niko said, gripping her shoulder. She perked up a little, and they locked eyes for a moment. "Do you trust me?"

"Of course, Niko."

"Then trust me when I say nothing will happen to us, alright?"

"…alright," Charlotte said, finally giving in. Niko smiled, and started walking into the cavern with his friends following closely behind.

Niko used both the railroad tracks and his senses to guide them through the tunnels in Terminus Cave. After a while of walking, the trio took a break, only to find themselves near what appeared to be the bottom of the tunnel.

"Do you…hear that…?" Niko asked, looking around as he stood back up. A faint ringing sound, off in the distance.

"Hear what?" Charlotte said.

"That…oh geez, what _was_ that?" Niko said, raising his voice. Charlotte and Warren gave him a worried look. He noticed this, and sat back down. "It was probably nothing. Never mind."

"Niko, what's going on? First you have a hunch that we should go here, and now you're hearing things," Warren said concernedly. Niko looked at him, and then shrugged it off, clearly having no idea himself. "Look, why don't we just—"

"Leave? Why? Because you're scared, Warren?" Niko said defensively.

"Not just that…but you're acting weird all of the sudden."

"I think we should continue," Charlotte said. "Who knows, maybe we'll find something useful?"

"Like what?" Warren argued, "A monster? Charlotte, listen to reason here, what else is there down here besides the reason for a mining company to close shop? I'd prefer to not die just because Niko has some sixth sense about it."

"But we _don't_ _know_ what he's sensing!"

"Look, just because you love him doesn't mean we have to do everything he wants."

Charlotte sat back, glaring at Warren. "I do not."

"Of, pfft. Please. You just—hey, where's Niko?" They both looked around, realizing that they were the only ones sitting in the tunnel. Getting up immediately, they scrambled off down the tunnel until they reached what looked like the bottom.

It was a massive cavern glowing green from the lake in the center. Stalactites hung from the ceiling in various lengths and shapes. Off in the distance, near the water, they saw Niko rummaging through a pile of rocks. Now considering their friend insane, Charlotte and Warren broke into a full sprint down into the cavern, only to see Niko whip back around with a small, rounded stone in his hand.

The stone was light gray with a curved, DNA-like swirl in the middle with multiple shades of gray surrounding it. It was, in fact, a mega stone.

"How'd you find this?" Warren asked. "Is _this_ why you came down here?"

"I—I think so. I just followed the faint ringing sound in my ears until I got to this pile of rocks. It stopped when I first saw it," Niko eyed it closely in the sickly green glow of the cavern. "I wonder which Pokémon it's for."

"We'll just have to ask around, I guess," Warren said.

"No, we can really only ask the right person. I think Professor Sycamore will have an idea. Next time we see him, I will," Niko said decisively. "So…you guys wanna leave this place now?"

Both of his friends let out a heavy sigh of relief. Their interest in leaving was then suddenly heightened by a roar they heard off in the distance—a loud, gurgling roar, presumably coming from the glowing green lake. They quickly exchanged glances at one another before dashing out of the cavern, back up the tunnel, and out of Terminus Cave.

By this time it was evening, and Niko and his friends were ready to crash for the day. Sitting down at the edge of the valley, they quickly made some food, trained briefly, and went to sleep. The entire time, Niko was fixated on this new mega stone, wondering not only who it was for, but also if he was capable of using it.

Most importantly, he didn't seem to sense anything else after that.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Looks like Niko has some sort of power now...and a new mega stone? Which one is it? And will it be used in the future? You'll just have to wait and see, I suppose!**


	37. The howitzer and the ninja

**Episode 37: The howitzer and the ninja**

 _"To the person reading this: What are you like now? Did you become who you wanted to be? For starters, what was the person you wanted to become even like? I don't know, but it would be wonderful if you can boast that you're living each day to the fullest. To future Sycamore. From the Sycamore dreaming of the future."_

Niko turned to look at his friends. They were standing at the run-down train station in Couriway Town on their pass through to Snowbelle City. While there, they had apparently found a message Professor Sycamore had written to himself long ago. It begged the question—who _was_ Professor Sycamore?

Couriway Town was a small town in eastern Kalos. A railway supposedly connected the town with other cities in the region, such as Lumiose City, but if the rusted nature of it suggested anything, it was that the rail was hardly used anymore, possibly due to a lack of attention to it in favor of other modes of transportation. Waterfalls decorated the town's edges, with rivers high up in the mountains leading to the set of shimmering falls that subsequently led into more rivers and lakes.

On their first day, Niko and his friends sat by one of them, resting on a wooden platform while they watched Pokémon swim around carelessly. In the midst of everything—battling, romance, and mysteries—it provided a necessary calm to Niko's life. It brought him back down to earth, reminding him of what lay ahead of him.

 _You will face a great challenge in the near future that will set you on a path few trainers have taken. You will be tested like no other trainer has before, bar one. Lastly, you will find meaning in the smaller, simpler things in life._

What did Olympia mean by this? What path have few trainers taken, and what test has only one trainer ever faced? Those two statements were, without a doubt, related. But how? Why? Was it related to his goal of becoming a Pokémon Master? Would he face it at the Kalos League? Was his "great challenge" a trainer, or a Pokémon, or something completely unrelated?

Niko ignored these thoughts for a moment when he turned to look at Charlotte, again noticing her hazel brown eyes and straight, but short hair. He still couldn't understand how exactly he felt about her. It was likely due to his inability to rationalize his feelings, as he was wont to do with most other people. He liked Warren's friendship because of their close bond during his lowest point. He appreciated Brittany for her emotional intellect and ability to empathize with others, even those she had difficulty liking. He liked Fay for his mental intellect and being one of his few friends growing up. Lastly, he liked Jake for familial reasons, as well as his mental intellect.

But where did Charlotte fall? What was it about her that Niko appreciated? _Why_ did he even have confused feelings in the first place? It implied that he, firstly, had any feelings at all for her, but also that he struggled with expressing them. He had always seen her as a friend, at least while they were in Unova, and he appreciated her emotional stability when it came to helping him out with problems that he faced—admitting his personal failings, getting through tough battles, etc. He liked that she cared for her Pokémon, as well as others around her. He liked her willingness to try new things, even if she initially refused to or thought pointless. She was open-minded, for the most part.

Niko may have answered his own question.

"Hey, you two want to go train?" Niko asked finally, standing up. "On our current path, we're about a week or two away from the eighth gym! Charlotte and I have to get ready."

"Agreed," Charlotte said, also standing up. "I think there's a battlefield down the street. It isn't a Pokémon Center one, but it'll do I think."

Niko nodded. "Then let's get rolling."

* * *

"Alright everyone, come on out!" Niko shouted, summoning his four Pokémon. "We're about to fight the final gym leader in Kalos—in Snowbelle City. We need to be in tip-top shape, alright? So let's get moving!"

Niko's Pokémon all continued working on their own individual moves, occasionally battling with Warren's Pokémon to test them out if they mastered them. Quilladin managed to successfully use seed bomb, impressing Charlotte's Gogoat in their practice battle. Fletchinder managed to get steel wing down, as expected, and Slurpuff successfully used cotton guard to defend from the super effective move.

It was only Clauncher that had any difficulties. He was trying to master dark pulse and continuously failed, much to his own disappointment. Despite encouragement from Niko, Clauncher wasn't able to use the attack, eventually slamming a crabhammer into the ground and scuttling away out of frustration.

"Oh, Clauncher!" Niko shouted, "Come back here!" The Water Gun Pokémon refused to listen, instead sitting on the bench and watching the others train. "You'll never get better if you don't work at this!"

"I've had that problem before," a voice said from behind them. Standing in the entrance of the battlefield, up a half-flight of stairs, was Oliver. The man with a black afro stared down at the three of them with their Pokémon in his black hoodie and jeans. "Hey, Niko, Charlotte. How're you both doing?"

"Fine. What're you in town for?" Niko inquired as his rival walked down the steps towards the battlefield.

"I'm on my way to Anistar City. Off to challenge the gym leader there. You?"

"Ah, the opposite direction. Snowbelle City. We just won the Psychic Badge," Niko said, eying his Clauncher, who helped win the battle for him.

"Snowbelle, eh? That was a tough gym. Fortunately I had Pokémon that could take on Wulfric," Oliver said. These words struck Niko like a punch to the face.

" _Wulfric_ is the Snowbelle Gym Leader?" Niko asked in apparent surprise.

"Yep, why? Does that mean something to you?"

"Y-yeah. I met him in Dendemille Town. He's caring for my Aurorus right now."

"Ah. Why?" Oliver asked. Niko then recited the reasons behind him temporarily parting ways with the Tundra Pokémon. The entire time, Oliver listened intently, eventually responding calmly. "Sounds like you made the right choice, Niko. Good on you."

"Thanks, Oliver," Niko then looked at his Pokémon, and back at his rival. "Say…wanna have a battle?"

"Sure, why not?" Oliver said aloofly, shrugging his shoulders. "I've got nowhere to be at the moment, and I'm sure my Pokémon would like to battle yours. It's been a while, after all."

"It really has. How many do you want to use?" Niko asked as they parted ways towards the opposite ends of the battlefield. Charlotte, Warren, and their Pokémon cleared the way for the two rivals. Niko's Pokémon all took their spots next to their trainer, uncharacteristically out of their Pokéballs.

"Three. Let's do three," Oliver said, a pokéball sitting in his hand. "I'll go first—Honedge, I choose you!"

Out of Oliver's first pokéball came a Pokémon resembling a sword. Its sheath was dark brown with curved lines across the surface. At the top of the sheath—the hilt of the sword—an eye was engraved on it. Attached to the pommel of the sword was a long, dark blue cloth with a swirling design at its four-split end.

" _Honedge, the Sword Pokémon. Steel and ghost type. Apparently, this Pokémon is born when a departed spirit inhabits a sword. It attaches itself to people and drinks their life force_ ," Charlotte's pokédex read.

"Fletchinder, you're up!" Niko shouted. "Let's start off with flame charge!"

"Honedge, iron defense!" Oliver commanded. The Sword Pokémon started to glow bright gray, and when Fletchinder crashed into it, the sword barely moved. "Now, aerial ace!"

"Flame charge again!" Niko commanded. Fletchinder's body lit up on fire, but the attack missed when Honedge spun backwards, unsheathing itself, and slamming the blunt end of the silver-drawn sword onto Fletchinder's back, forcing the Ember Pokémon to crash into the ground.

"Night slash!" Oliver commanded again. Honedge's blade burst into a purple color as it attempted to strike the fallen Fletchinder, who used flame charge to burst forward, causing the night slash to miss. Fletchinder got back into the air, the flame charge speeding him up, until he swooped back around and dove towards Honedge. "Aerial ace!"

"Keep going, Fletchinder! Flame charge!" Niko shouted. Fletchinder crashed into his opponent, who then spun around and slashed at Fletchinder with aerial ace, striking the bird with the sharp side of the blade this time. Fletchinder cried out as she crashed into the ground.

"Niko has the clear advantage…" Warren said, "but it doesn't seem to matter. Honedge is just as strong."

"Does honedge evolve?" Charlotte asked. Warren simply shook his head.

"Flame charge again!" Niko shouted. Fletchinder quickly got up and burst into flames once more, this time moving at a blinding speed, striking Honedge and launching it across the field and into the wall behind Oliver. The Sword Pokémon then peeled off of the wall and collapsed on the ground in defeat.

"Return, Honedge," Oliver said. "Greninja, I choose you!" he then shouted, summoning a large, bipedal frog-like Pokémon. Its body and legs were dark blue, with single large, white bubbles on its legs and arms and white spots over its eyes. On the sides of each of its upper thighs is a light blue, four-pointed star, which resembled a shuriken. Its back feet had two toes each, while its front feet had three. Its feet were webbed, and it had a yellow chest and yellow-and-blue face. Its eyes had white sclera, red irises, and white pupils. A large, projected dark blue stripe ran down the middle of its head, with projecting light blue stripes in between its large, yellow ears. Its mouth was hidden behind a large, pink tongue that wrapped around its neck and extended outwards behind its head.

" _Greninja, the Ninja Pokémon. Water and dark type. It creates throwing stars out of compressed water. When it spins them and throws them at high speed, these stars can split metal in two_ ," Charlotte's pokédex read.

"Greninja, water shuriken!" Oliver commanded.

"Fletchinder, dodge and use steel wing!" Niko shouted. Fortunately, Fletchinder was faster. However, Niko made the poor decision to strike Greninja up close. As Fletchinder struck at the Ninja Pokémon, the latter quickly struck at her with night slash, rocketing her high into the air and firing off a water shuriken at her in midair. By the time Fletchinder hit the ground, she was down and out. "Return, buddy. You did great…Quilladin," Niko said, turning to his grass type. "You ready?"

Quilladin nodded, stepping forward to take on the Greninja that he, presumably, recognized from Professor Sycamore's lab when he was a froakie. Niko commanded him to start off with seed bomb, to which Greninja dodged with smokescreen, eventually rising into the air with unmatched jumping skills and fired off a water shuriken from high above.

"Quick, block them with needle arm!" Niko commanded. Quilladin crossed his arms together, both glowing bright green, as he was hit by the throwing stars made of compressed water. However, despite the attack being less effective, it hit Quilladin with enough force to move him backwards and onto his knees.

"Night slash!" Oliver shouted, thrusting his arm to the side, as if he were attacking himself. Greninja conjured a long, purple blade that it used to strike at Quilladin. Greninja bounded across the field and smacked his opponent with the dark purple blade. Quilladin, for his part, managed to parry a few of the blows with needle arm, but eventually collapsed to the ground. Greninja bounced backwards, somersaulting along the way, and fired off a water shuriken on Oliver's command. As soon as it hit Quilladin, the Spiny Armor Pokémon was out of the battle.

"Quilladin, return," Niko said, returning his grass type. "That Greninja is surely something, Oliver."

"Yeah, it is. Your Quilladin is getting better at battling, too. It's certainly not the Chespin I battled against back in Camphrier Town."

"Definitely not," Niko then looked at his only two available Pokémon. Since Greninja was a dark type, Slurpuff certainly had the advantage. However, Clauncher needed the battling experience. He needed to feel strong again. "Clauncher, let's go."

The Water Gun Pokémon eyed Niko suspiciously before scuttling onto the field. He stared down Greninja, who crouched low to the ground in anticipation of an attack.

"Greninja, night slash!" Oliver commanded. The Ninja Pokémon created another dark purple blade with its right hand and charged at Clauncher.

"Water pulse!" Niko commanded. Clauncher's blue claw shimmered before firing off a pulsating orb of water at his fellow water type. Greninja slashed at it with night slash, prematurely causing it to burst. "Crabhammer!"

Clauncher's big claw started to glow white as he jumped high into the air to meet Greninja's night slash. The two attacks collided, neither Pokémon giving ground. Greninja then created a second night slash blade and poked Clauncher in the chest, sending him flying through the air.

"Clauncher!" Niko shouted when the Water Gun Pokémon crashed into the ground, struggling to get back on his feet. He looked angry, and Niko had several reasons why that might be the case. He never quite found out, instead focusing on trying to get around this powerful water type Pokémon. "Use water pulse!" Greninja blocked the attack, but was subsequently returned. "Huh?"

"I am allowed to substitute, right?" Oliver said. "With two water types, this battle will go nowhere. Pikachu, you're up!"

 _Oh, no…_ Niko thought to himself. _We're screwed_. "Clauncher, water pulse!"

"Pikachu, electro ball!" Oliver commanded. The electric mouse leapt into the air, firing off an orb of pure electricity at Clauncher, who responded with his own orb of elemental energy. The two attacks collided, bursting in the middle of the field. "Now, thunderbolt!"

"Clauncher, block it with water pulse again" Niko shouted. Once more, water reacted with electricity to create a vicious explosion, only this time it hit closer to Clauncher than Pikachu. The Water Gun Pokémon winced as he was thrown backwards from the force of the explosion, while Pikachu remained relatively unharmed. "You can keep going, buddy. I know you can," Niko said softly. "You've defeated a mega-evolved Pokémon, and won in a double battle. You can defeat a measly Pikachu, right?"

Clauncher looked up at Niko curiously.

"I've rarely seen a Pokémon with the kind of raw power that you have—and ask Charlotte and Warren, they know I've raised a lot of Pokémon. You're _very_ strong, Clauncher. You just have to believe that you are, like you did when you defeated that Mega Lucario, or helped Aurorus defeat those meowstic. I certainly do. Always have, and always will."

Clauncher blinked at Niko, his wide, white eyes, normally emotionless, suddenly teared up slightly. Niko had rarely seen Clauncher show that amount of emotion, much less _that_ emotion. He could barely hear the Water Gun Pokémon take a deep breath before glowing a bright white color, engulfing the field in his light of evolution.

Clauncher, to be sure, didn't grow much bigger upon evolution. But his already massive claw did, and it _grew_. The cyan-colored shrimp Pokémon had a single black stripe on each of his body segments. The legs that he had as a Clauncher had disappeared. He still had two claws, but one was clearly bigger than the other. The smaller claw was blue with a yellow tip and a black stripe, and was proportional to his body. The larger claw, on the other hand, was dark blue, with a pair of yellow antennae and three black stripes. Lastly, he had a black stripe across his face and yellow, semi-circular eyes.

" _Clawitzer, the Howitzer Pokémon. Water type. By expelling water from the nozzle in the back of its claw, it can move at a speed of 60 knots_ ," Niko's pokédex read.

Clawitzer, without taking orders from Niko, aimed his large claw directly at Pikachu and, with it shimmering a dark gray color, fired off a nexus of dark energy at the electric mouse, striking it in the chest and knocking it over.

"Dark pulse!" Niko shouted. "You learned it!" Clawitzer turned to Niko and smirked. "Alright then! Use crabhammer!"

"Pikachu, thunderbolt!" Oliver commanded. Clawitzer expelled water from the back of his claw and fired off towards his opponent, who was preparing to expel its own elemental powers. Clawitzer's large claw started to burst into a bright blue color as he struck Pikachu, just as the electric mouse released electricity from its two red cheeks. Both Pokémon, clearly injured by the attacks, repelled one another in opposite directions before collapsing onto the ground of the battlefield, both unable to battle.

Oliver returned Pikachu and looked up at Niko. "Well done, man. That was a great battle."

"Thanks, I think so too," Niko said as he pat Clawitzer's head. "Your Pokémon are going really well, Oliver. I can't wait to see how well you do in the Kalos League."

"I could say the same about you, runner-up," Oliver said with a smirk. They stared at each other for a few moments before firmly shaking one another's hand. "Good luck against Wulfric. If this battle is any indication, I think you'll be just fine. But keep an eye out for his Abomasnow. It's stronger than it looks."

"I've had experience battling those, but thanks for the heads up," Niko said.

"Charlotte, Warren, it was nice seeing you both again. Charlotte, good luck against Wulfric as well," he said before walking off of the battlefield, up the stairs, and out of sight. The sun was setting now and Niko, with his friends and Clawitzer by his side, felt more confident about the road ahead. He somehow felt like he was finding the answers he sought, even if they were immediately clear to him in the moment.

Sycamore's words, etched on a seat on the train station platform, rang true for Niko in that moment. He was, he was certain, becoming the person he wanted to become. He had lived that particular day to its fullest.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Just curious-what do y'all think of Oliver? He hasn't shown up much, at least not compared to Ian or Wally. I also haven't given him much backstory yet, and that's *kinda* on purpose, and kinda not. Either way, hope you enjoyed this battle.**


	38. The broken twig!

**Episode 38: The broken twig**

Niko and his friends left Couriway Town the day following his battle with Oliver, the one that resulted in his Clauncher evolving into Clawitzer. He was also reminded of how powerful Oliver's Pokémon were. It made him wonder if his rival-turned-sort of friend had participated in Pokémon Leagues prior to this. There's no way he was _that_ good as a beginner. But he knew that Oliver intended to challenge the Kalos League, just like he did. In the event that he had to face his rival—as Niko was supposedly wont to do—then he needed to be ready. He needed to be at his very best. And that might involve mastering mega evolution.

Since finding the new mega stone in Terminus Cave, Niko wondered what Pokémon was supposed to use it. Moreover, he wondered why _he_ specifically was supposed to find it. He, of all people, had the good sense to go to Terminus Cave, and he, of all people, seemed destined to find _that_ particular mega stone. Why _him?_ Why did _he_ find it? Why did _he_ sense it? It made no sense to him at all, and he spent much of his free time on the way to Snowbelle City trying to figure it out.

Meanwhile, he and Charlotte continued their training with the knowledge that the Snowbelle City Gym would be the toughest for the both of them. It was the final gym and, in Niko's experience, he usually had difficulty with the final one. The exception to this rule was in Unova, where the Humilau City Gym was one of his easiest. Nevertheless, that wasn't a reason to underestimate Wulfric, whom Niko discovered to be the final gym leader that he would face.

After watching Niko's battle with Oliver, Charlotte took out more time from her day to train, even at the expense of their travels. She, like Niko, understood that she might have to face Oliver in the Kalos League, just like she might have to face any of Niko's other rivals—Ian and Wally, to be specific. She, however, did not have the wealth of reserves that Niko did. Instead, she had to rely solely on her full team of Pokémon that she has kept since before the Cyllage City Gym.

Understanding that Wulfric's team would consist primarily of ice types, Charlotte figured that she would use Braixen for much of the battle, along with Pupitar. This put a lot of pressure on both the Fox and Hard Shell Pokémon to do well, and to not make any mistakes when it came to mastering their movesets. Pupitar wasn't focused as much on learning new moves, but rather on improving on his current ones—iron head, rock slide, dark pulse, and sandstorm. Braixen, on the other hand, tried to master psyshock, in addition to improving on her flame charge and psybeam, both of which would serve her well in her battle against Wulfric.

Charlotte, understandably, had a lot on her mind. She was looking forward to finally entering a Pokémon League on her own. However, it still made her nervous as ever. She didn't know what it felt like to be on a stage, with thousands watching her, in the stands and on television. All of her friends from home—and her mother—would be watching. Niko's friends would be watching. _Niko_ would be watching.

 _Niko…_

During their travels in Kalos, she had spent more than enough time trying to think through her feelings for this guy. If she was being completely honest with herself, she had had feelings for him back in Unova, however they were largely dormant feelings that never truly manifested themselves until the Vertress Conference, when Niko finally surpassed his personal goal and made it through the quarterfinals. That moment, Charlotte realized, was when she began to like him. Not because he was a successful trainer. But because he had shattered his personal curse—he had moved on from his past. He had finally set himself on the path towards his destiny, whatever that was.

She appreciated that. She wanted someone who understood who they were, where they stood in the world (albeit vaguely). Charlotte had a feeling that Niko knew these things, but hadn't quite realized them himself. They were, she believed, part of some unconscious understanding of the self.

Most importantly, she wanted someone who cared. She witnessed powerful trainers like Hunter who only saw Pokémon as a vehicle to greatness. Niko didn't. He cared more about his Pokémon than she had seen any other trainer do. During their journeys in Unova, she witnessed the anguish it caused him to leave his Pokémon, and not know if he could go back to them; not know if they would accept him again as their trainer; what his personal mistakes had done to those he cared about. But she also saw him overcome them, and succeed as a result. She found herself inspired by the bond he had with his Pokémon and, in a way, wished he had shared that bond with her.

Charlotte couldn't quite describe her feelings in a succinct way, which is why she never attempted to, even to Warren. But, as far as she was concerned, she liked Niko. Maybe loved him. _Love_? _What a strange word_ , she thought. _How does one love_? She had no idea. She loved her mother, and her father, and her Pokémon. But she never loved another person that she wasn't directly related to.

Another thing keeping her grounded was Niko's reception to these feelings. Sure, she had noticed some hints that he felt similarly—their night out in Lumiose, for example. The gift he gave her in Coumarine City. The way they made up during that blizzard on route 17. Every other small instance of kindness he had shown towards her. Two possibilities existed: either he liked her, or he wasn't sure if he liked her. Either way, it didn't matter to Charlotte. She still had no idea how to express them back to him.

Or when. When would be the best time to tell Niko? Certainly not before the Kalos League. What if they got into an argument over it? What if she was wrong, and he didn't feel the same? Then his chances at the Kalos Championship might be disrupted. Hers certainly would be. She didn't believe that she had the emotional intellect to handle a rejection. She had never really had the same sort of feelings towards Niko that she had towards anyone else. As a result, she had never dealt with rejection. Charlotte didn't want to mar anyone's chances in the Kalos League. So, she concluded that she would at least wait until the tournament was over before confessing to Niko, no matter how hard it was to wait.

* * *

The path to Snowbelle City took roughly a week and a half from Couriway Town—if a traveler spent most of their days walking. Due to the constant training sessions, the trip would take roughly two weeks. Most of the journey was through route 19—a rather swampy, wet region of Kalos that reminded Niko of a specific part of Sinnoh, as well as Unova. They occasionally dealt with rain of various degrees of intensity. Fortunately, during a particularly intense rainstorm, they managed to find a Pokémon Center nearby, which acted as a sort of way station on their journey.

When they entered, Niko threw off his hood and, drenched in rainwater, waddled over to Nurse Joy at the front desk and asked for a room to stay in. Fortunately, there was one left, but it was smaller than usual.

"That's fine," Niko said, showing the key to Warren and Charlotte. The three of them made their way to the room and, once they walked inside, noticed there were only two beds, instead of the usual three or four. "Oh… _that_ kind of small."

"What should we do?" Charlotte asked, genuinely curious.

"We could either share a bed," Warren said, "or one of us could just sleep in a chair, or on the ground."

Niko and Charlotte looked at one another, and then at Warren. It was clear what he was trying to do, but neither of them took the bait. "I'll sleep in the chair," Niko eventually said. Raising an eyebrow, Warren simply nodded, and started putting his things on his bed.

That evening Niko, understandably, had difficulty sleeping. Giving up, he simply just that there, waiting for it to be a reasonable time to start his day. After a while, he heard some rustling, and saw Charlotte get up in the dark room. She went to turn on a light and saw Niko sitting there, pretending to be asleep.

"There's no way you're asleep, are you?" she asked.

"Nope, I'm not," Niko said, opening his eyes. "Why're you awake?"

"Bad dream. Want to trade places?"

"Why?" Niko wondered.

"Because I can't fall back asleep, and you need to sleep."

Niko looked skeptical, but eventually nodded. He was tired, and the bed looked awfully comfortable. They traded spots, and Charlotte managed to curl up in the chair while Niko laid down on the bed and soundly went to sleep, wondering if he would wake up with someone next to him in the morning. He didn't.

* * *

The following day was raining, but not nearly as much, and so the group continued on. During their training that afternoon, after a day's worth of walking through thick grass and muddy swamps, the group's Pokémon found themselves having difficulty practicing certain moves. Some were sliding around in the mud; others—like Pupitar and Litleo—simply detested the rainy environment that they were in. Others—like Slurpuff, Frillish, and Clawitzer—enjoyed it, and delighted in running around in the weather.

Charlotte, who was trying to train with Braixen in preparation for the Snowbelle Gym, had difficulty getting her to successfully use flame charge while in the muddy environment. The Fox Pokémon was showing signs of slipping, and tried to proceed with caution. At one point, Braixen wanted to stop. "No, we have to keep going," Charlotte would say in response. "Just…be careful, alright?"

Braixen, eying her trainer with skepticism, nodded and continued. She lowered herself closer to the ground and charged off, her body alight in fire. This time, however, Braixen felt herself losing control, and slipped on the ground, falling backwards onto her tail.

Charlotte, without a doubt concerned, ran over to Braixen to see if her Pokémon was alright. Braixen was fine—her fluffy tail broke her fall—but when she got up she felt something in her tail that didn't seem like it belonged—dirt, rocks maybe? Reaching inside, she pulled out half of a twig.

 _Her_ twig.

Braixen's eyes widened in disbelief. _Her_ twig was broken. The twig she used for all of her moves, bar flame charge. The object of her power. It was gone.

"Braixen, can't we just find another twig for you?" Charlotte asked. The Fox Pokémon looked at her trainer angrily, threw the twig pieces on the ground, and stomped away. "Braixen…wha—what did I do wrong?"

"So…apparently, Braixen's twig means a lot to her," Warren said, looking in Niko's pokédex. "This is common among the species, not just your particular Braixen. Granted, not all are like this, but they do admire their twig more than, well, we would. It's their wand; the vehicle through which they use their psychic power. They have a bond with it, and value it highly."

"What should we do then? According to this, we can't just find another twig," Niko said.

Charlotte sat on a log near their camp with her arms wrapped around her knees. Her Pokémon were sitting under a tree, trying to stay out of the light rain falling from the sky. Braixen was sitting up in the tree, eager to stay away from virtually everyone. The Fox Pokémon had since attempted to fix her broken stick, but to no avail. After a while, she lamely threw them out of the tree, nearly hitting Warren's Litleo.

Charlotte had no idea how to resolve this. If she didn't have her twig, then she would be less likely to battle, which would make her fight against Wulfric far more difficult. _She_ needed Braixen, and not necessarily the other way around.

Later that evening, after Niko finished cooking, Braixen hardly ate anything. Charlotte attempted to force feed her Pokémon, who simply spat fire to her left as a warning sign. Seeing this, Charlotte backed off and, clearly hurt, went off to sleep instead, as she couldn't think of anything else to do.

Due to the potential for more rain, the trio slept under a tree and returned their Pokémon, with the exception of Braixen, who simply refused to do anything Charlotte asked her to. The Fox Pokémon sat up in the tree, trying to fall asleep herself, but wasn't able to for obvious reasons.

After a few hours, she heard a rustling off in the distance. Perking up, she saw something approach the three sleeping trainers. She couldn't quite recognize it—it was an unfamiliar Pokémon to her—but it looked dangerous. Braixen crouched down on the branch she was previously sitting on and waited to see what the Pokémon—a large, scorpion-like creature—would do.

It then raised its two claws high in the air and, just as it was about to throw them down on Charlotte, a burst of fire erupted from the tree above it, and the scorpion was knocked to the ground.

Charlotte's ears rang from the sound of an explosion. Immediately waking up, she saw her Braixen in a fight with what looked like a wild drapion. The drapion was slashing and clawing at Braixen, who dodged and evaded each attack.

"What's going—oh god!" Niko said as he instinctively pulled out a pokéball. But Charlotte stopped him.

"Braixen can do this," she said. "Braixen!" Charlotte said, not standing up, her fists balled up, "use flame charge!"

The Fox Pokémon nodded, striking drapion with the full force of her body. Drapion, however, seemed to anticipate this and, with remarkable reflexes, managed to grab Braixen in its two claws and, spinning its entire torso around, slam the Fox Pokémon down onto its back. Braixen let out a whimper as it was thrown to the side. Drapion then scuttled towards it and crossed its arms, apparently ready to use cross poison.

"That's it," Niko said, "Clawitzer, water pulse!"

"Braixen!" Charlotte shouted, ignoring Niko and running to the aide of her Pokémon. She stood in between the drapion and Braixen and held her arms out. "You. Will. _Not_. Hurt. Braixen!"

Drapion's cross poison was nearly ready to fire when it got hit in the side by a powerful, mega-launched water pulse, which bought Charlotte and Braixen time to escape.

"Are you alright?" she asked. Braixen nodded, slowly getting back up. Then her eyes widened, and she grabbed Charlotte and spun around, taking a cross poison to the back. Both of them fell to the ground, Braixen on top of her trainer, and clearly hurt by the poison attack.

Drapion then grabbed Braixen's foot and attempted to drag her away, ignoring the attacks from Niko's Clawitzer. As Braixen was getting dragged across the wet grass, she instinctively grabbed a nearby twig and trying to use psybeam with it. Drapion, being a dark type Pokémon, wasn't affected, and instead threw Braixen against a tree…and another…and another, before slamming the Fox Pokémon into the ground and spinning around to strike Clawitzer with cross poison. It then grabbed Braixen again and, just as it did so, Charlotte jumped in between them in an attempt to pry Braixen off. Drapion grabbed her with its other claw and threw her to the side. Braixen screamed and, out of anger, released a powerful jet of fire from her twig.

At first, it looked like an ordinary flamethrower, but instead Braixen, now glowing a bright white color, was surrounded by a ring of fire. The red-orange stream of flames emanated from her twig, hitting the drapion in the face. Seizing the moment, Clawitzer fired off a water pulse and, feeling overpowered, the drapion scuttled off into the forest again.

Charlotte looked up to see a completely different Pokémon staring at her from several feet away. She was taller than Braixen, to be sure, and nearly as tall as Charlotte was. The Pokémon was covered in a coat of dark red fur that resembled a robe. The "robe" had red-orange, flame-like markings near the knees, as well as a thin tuft of white fur on her torso, flanked by yellow fur draping down from her shoulders. She had three tufts of red-orange fur protruding out of each ear. Her forearms featured long red fur resembling sleeves, and her hands and feet were dark gray with three clawed fingers and toes, respectively. A tail covered in yellow fur protrudes from her "robe."

" _Delphox, the Fox Pokémon. Fire and psychic type. Using psychic power, it generates a fiery vortex of 5,400 degrees Fahrenheit, incinerating foes swept into this whirl of flame_ ," Niko's pokédex read.

"Delphox…" Charlotte said. Delphox looked down at the twig in her hand, and then at Charlotte, and simply smiled. Charlotte scrambled onto her feet to hug her Pokémon, who was almost as tall as she. "Are you feeling alright? The drapion gave you quite a beating," Delphox simply nodded. "I'm sorry for pushing you too hard today. I caused you to break your twig, and I feel terrible about it. Can you forgive me?"

Delphox pretended to think about it for a moment before nodding. Getting the joke, Charlotte hugged her Pokémon again and laughed.

"Let's get back to bed, then."

"By the way, Charlotte," Niko said, "that move Delphox used to beat drapion is called mystical fire."

"Mystical fire…I like the sound of that," Charlotte said as she pulled out Delphox's pokéball on instinct. However, she placed it back in her bag. "Actually, I think we could all use someone to keep watch, don't you think?"

Delphox nodded, and sat against the tree, admiring her new stick and playing around with it while Charlotte and her friends went back to sleep. It didn't rain the rest of the night, and the trio wasn't bothered, either.


	39. A battle of fire and ice!

**Episode 39: A battle of fire and ice!**

"We're finally here…" Niko said as he, Charlotte, and Warren looked down at Snowbelle City, covered in a blanket of snow with a magnificent snow-topped mountain range in the back. "Charlotte, let's get our last badge."

Charlotte looked up at Niko, and simply nodded.

The Snowbelle Gym was resting against the mountains in the northern outskirts of the city. After setting up their lodging in a Pokémon Center, the trio journeyed through the city to find the gym at the other end of a snow-covered pathway. The gym itself was large and made of steel in a half-hexagonal shape. From Niko's perspective, it looked more like some sort of military base than a Pokémon gym. However, the gym was locked, as the button to open the double doors wasn't responding.

"Wait…what?" Niko said as he attempted to open the door again. Nothing. He sighed. He really wanted to see Aurorus again. Niko supposed he had to wait a little longer then.

Just as they turned around to head back into the city, they saw a tall, portly man in a light blue snow coat walking alongside an abomasnow. Niko perked up at the sight of Wulfric walking up to them.

"Ah, I wondered when you three would show up!" he said with a hearty laugh. "Would you like to meet your Aurorus, Niko?"

"I'd also like to challenge you to a Pokémon battle. So would Charlotte."

Wulfric raised an eyebrow with intrigue. "Yes, I accept both challenges. Follow me—the front door is broken right now," he said, motioning for them to follow him around the gym and towards a secret side-entrance. "This damned building needs repairs, that's for sure," Wulfric said as he forced open the side door, a thick board of steel attached to the rock in the mountain. "Anyway, come on in. Aurorus stays here while I'm out. I like to keep the gym pretty cold, as you can tell," he said as he closed the door behind him, allowing the trio to take the lead through a hallway until they reached the battlefield.

The battlefield was frozen, and the surrounded area around it also frozen. It looked like an old industrial factory, based on the machinery surrounding the interior of the gym. Wulfric then whistled, and the ground began to shake. Suddenly, out of a tunnel on the opposite side of the battlefield, a massive, sky-blue colored Pokémon with two long, rainbow-colored sails dashed into the room. Niko's eyes lit up—Aurorus was here.

"Hey buddy!" Niko said, reaching up to hug the Tundra Pokémon. "I've missed you so much! Hopefully you're not giving Wulfric a hard time."

"Actually, she's been wonderful to have around," Wulfric said with delight. "Your Aurorus really is something, Niko. She loves to train, and occasionally I'll battle with her to test her skills. It's a win-win, basically," Wulfric elaborated while patting Aurorus' cold, scaly skin. "Now! A gym battle. Charlotte and Niko…who would like to go first?"

Niko nodded as he looked at Charlotte. "I'll go first."

Wulfric smirked. "Excellent. It'll be a three-on-three battle. But we'll have to wait a bit—I need a referee."

"I can do it!" Warren suggested.

"I'm sure you can, Warren. However, since this is an official gym battle, Kalos League rules state that I must have a certified referee to judge the match. He'll be on his way as soon as I make the call," Wulfric said, leaving the room. Meanwhile, Niko and his friends caught up with Aurorus.

"Hey, look who evolved!" Niko said, summoning Clawitzer. The Howitzer Pokémon looked up at Aurorus, who looked like she was about to bust out in laughter, presumably because of Clawitzer's massive, dark blue claw. Clawitzer, frustrated by this, began to fire up a water pulse when Niko stopped him. "Not now, Aurorus will be battling today. I get the insecurity, but not now."

Clawitzer, just as offended by this, backed down, scowling at Aurorus, who tried to make things better, but failed.

* * *

"This will be a three-on-three Pokémon battle between Snowbelle Gym Leader Wulfric and Niko from Pallet Town. The winner will be the trainer who defeats all three of his opponent's Pokémon. Only the challenger is allowed to substitute. You may begin!"

"Avalugg, I choose you!" Wulfric commanded, summoning a massive Pokémon formed almost entirely from reflective ice. The top half of its body was completely flat with three cracks running horizontally along the top. Its four legs were cylindrical, and also sport purple cracks at the joints and in between its icy toes. Underneath each toe was a spike, similar to cleats. Large icicles hung from its underside, which nearly touched the ground. Avalugg's head was similar to its body—a cracked wedge of ice with a flattened upper surface. Its mouth had a large underbite, which opened up to reveal four small teeth and purple gums. The head had two white diamond-shaped "ears," and from its chin hung three bulging spikes that resembled a beard.

" _Avalugg, the iceberg Pokémon. Ice type. Its ice-covered body is as hard as steel. Its cumbersome frame crushes anything that stands in its way_ ," Charlotte's pokédex read.

"Avalugg…alright, Slurpuff, I choose you!" Niko shouted, summoning the pink meringue Pokémon. "Let's start off with fairy wind!"

"Surround yourself with stone edge!" Wulfric shouted, his deep voice echoing throughout the gym. Avalugg stomped on the icy floor, and pointed stones appeared around it. "Now, gyro ball to shoot them at Slurpuff!" Wulfric commanded as the fairy wind subsided. Avalugg got low to the ground and, using the icy floor, spun its presumably heavy body around the inside of the circle of pointed stones. With each collision, Avalugg broke the stones and sent them flying at Slurpuff.

"Block it with cotton guard!" Niko commanded. Slurpuff covered herself in cotton candy, which seemed to minimize the damage done, albeit not by much, though. Slurpuff stumbled backwards, clearly injured from the pointes stones. "Use dazzling gleam!"

"Avalugg, avalanche!" Wulfric shouted, right after his Pokémon got hit by the blinding light emitting from Slurpuff. The Iceberg Pokémon conjured a wave of snow to crash down above Slurpuff. Fortunately, the Cotton Candy Pokémon managed to block it with fairy wind, which minimized the damage she took. "Stone edge!"

"Slurpuff, use cotton guard and try to move closer!" Niko said, realizing that this stalemate between long-range attacks wouldn't last. However, as soon as Slurpuff attempted to move she slipped on the ground, falling flat on her face until the stone edge struck her and launched her high into the air. "Break your fall with fairy wind!" Niko shouted. As she descended to the ground, Slurpuff unleashed a burst of sparkling wind directly under her that softened the descent. She landed back on the ground before nearly slipping a second time. That's when Niko got an idea.

"Avalugg, use gyro ball!" Wulfric commanded.

"Slurpuff, cotton spore the floor," Niko said, wondering if the physics would work here. Slurpuff nodded, throwing two balls of cotton onto the ground. Somehow, they stuck. "Alright, stand on those for a moment…" Niko said, waiting for Avalugg to get closer. "Now! Jump over Avalugg!"

Slurpuff flung herself into the air, using dazzling gleam as she left the Iceberg Pokémon's field of vision, and causing it to crash into the side of the gym. Slurpuff then, as she was about to land, fired off two small cotton spores onto the floor and landed on them, not slipping this time.

"Slurpuff, let's win this! Use dazzling gleam!" Niko shouted, thrusting his hand out. Slurpuff faced Avalugg and unleashed a bright light, hitting Avalugg and blinding it. "Now, cotton guard yourself and use fairy wind!" Niko commanded.

"Avalugg, stone edge!" Wulfric shouted, but it was no use. His Pokémon couldn't seem to see. It attempted to use stone edge, but missed, and got hit by the powerful gust of sparkling wind that knocked it back into the wall. Wulfric sighed, looking at his referee to make the call.

"Avalugg is unable to battle, Slurpuff is the winner! Leader Wulfric will now use his second Pokémon!" the referee declared.

"Avalugg, return," Wulfric said. "Well done, Niko. You adapted to the icy battlefield nicely. However, you have to realize that that simply won't be enough. Cryogonal, I choose you!" he shouted, summoning the familiar Crystallizing Pokémon that Niko had once met in Unova, when he was battling Brycen. "Use hail!"

"Slurpuff, cotton guard!" Niko commanded. The Cotton Candy Pokémon covered herself in sticky cotton to help protect from the hail being whipped up. "Now, use dazzling gleam!"

"Cryogonal, flash cannon!" Wulfric commanded. Both flashes of light illuminated the field. Warren and Charlotte had to briefly cover their eyes from the bright lights emitting on both sides. By the time the attacks were through, Slurpuff was doubled over. The attack seemed to do a number on her. "Now, ice beam!"

"Blow it back with fairy wind!" Niko commanded. Slurpuff conjured a sparkling wind in an attempt to beat back the stream of ice firing at her, but had difficulty doing so. The ice beam hit and knocked her on her back with enough force for her to slide backwards.

"Flash cannon!" Wulfric shouted. Before Slurpuff could get up—she kept slipping and falling on the ice—Cryogonal released a beam of pure light energy, hitting Slurpuff and knocking her on her back once again. This time, she couldn't get back up.

"Slurpuff is unable to battle, Cryogonal is the winner! Challenger Niko will send out his second Pokémon!" the referee declared.

"Return," Niko said. _That flash cannon will be tough to beat. I wonder…_ "Aurorus, let's go!" Niko shouted, hoping that the Tundra Pokémon had learned something while staying with Wulfric. "Use thunder wave!"

"Cryogonal, block it with flash cannon!" Wulfric directed. When Aurorus' sails lit up with sparks of electricity, she fired them in a concentrated stream towards Cryogonal, running directly through the flash cannon and hitting the Crystallizing Pokémon directly in the face, knocking it to the ground.

"Aurorus, let's win this one quickly!" Niko commanded. "Use ancientpower!"

"AURRR!" Aurorus cried out as she conjured rocks from out of nowhere, throwing them one-by-one at Cryogonal, who was temporarily unable to move. Niko then commanded Aurorus to use avalanche, which also seemed to succeed.

"Well done, Aurorus," Niko said. "But we're not done yet. Aurorus, ancientpower one more time!"

Aurorus summoned another series of rocks from thin air and fired them at the Cryogonal, who was now beginning to recover from the paralysis, only to be knocked down once again. Once the attack was through, Cryogonal seemed slower—presumably due to the severe damage it had just taken.

"Cryogonal, use flash cannon!"

"Aurorus, avalanche on yourself!" Niko shouted. This is what he was waiting for—a way to block an incredibly super effective attack. Aurorus didn't seem to question Niko's directions, and covered herself in snow. "Keep it up! Don't stop!" he shouted as Cryogonal prepared and subsequently fired the flash cannon. The attack's power was minimized by the constant avalanche blocked Aurorus, just as Niko figured. "Alright, use ancientpower again!"

"Block it with ice beam!" Wulfric shouted. Both attacks collided, but the ice beam wasn't enough, and Cryogonal was once more hit with ancientpower. The final rock knocked it out of the air and back onto the ground, where it remained.

"Cryogonal is unable to battle, Aurorus is the winner! Leader Wulfric will now use his third and final Pokémon!" the referee declared.

"Hmm. Well done, Niko. Attacking yourself as a defensive strategy? I knew a trainer once who did the opposite—used his defense as an offense. I'm always fascinated by the different battling styles of my challengers. It keeps me on my toes, and I learn something new. But now, Niko, if you plan on entering the Kalos League, you need to prove to me that you have the fire within you to qualify for it. Abomasnow, I choose you!" Wulfric shouted, summoning a familiar large, white and green creature with shaggy white fur. Immediately following its entry into the battle, a hailstorm whipped up, making it difficult for Niko to see. "Let's start off with energy ball!"

"Aurorus, defend with aurora beam!" Niko commanded. Aurorus summoned a beam of rainbow-colored energy that collided mid-field with the energy ball. However, it was all a ruse, as Niko quickly found out, since Abomasnow was faster than he expected, and slammed Aurorus in the side with wood hammer, knocking the Tundra Pokémon to the ground. "Aurorus!"

"Finish it off with energy ball!" Wulfric commanded. Before Aurorus could get back up, the energy ball struck her in the side, leaving her defeated.

"Aurorus is unable to battle, Abomasnow is the winner!" the referee declared. "Challenger Niko will now send out his third and final Pokémon!"

"Aurorus, return. I'm very proud of you, and glad that I got a chance to battle with you again. Thanks," Niko said, looking down at Aurorus' pokéball. "It's down to you, buddy. Let's make this one count. Fletchinder, I choose you!"

"Ah, a Fletchinder?" Wulfric said curiously. "I see what you're going for here. Tell you what: this battle is pretty intense, and it's your last one. Let's make this one count," Wulfric then reached in his shirt for a necklace. At the end of it was a six-shaped locket that looked like a chiseled piece of ice. He opened the locket to reveal a Key Stone. "Niko, show me you're worthy of the Kalos League. Abomasnow, reveal the true power of the ice type. Mega evolve!"

A mega stone began to shine from inside Abomasnow's fur. Both trainer and Pokémon began to shine, and light tendrils connected the Key Stone with the abomasite, and the Pokémon began to transform. Now, the sprouts on its back were larger, and transformed into great shafts of ice. Its fur got longer and shaggier all over its body, in particular around its head. Green fur or sprout remnants surrounded the base of the large icicles on its back, while white fur covered the middle.

Niko's eyes widened. Fletchinder turned to him and, interestingly enough, showed no fear, while Niko himself was surely intimidated by the Mega Abomasnow standing in front of him. _If Fletchinder—who actually has to fight this thing—isn't afraid, why should I be?_ Niko thought. _I—we—can do this!_ "Fletchinder, use flame charge!"

"Abomasnow, use blizzard!" Wulfric commanded. Mega Abomasnow whipped up an even heavier blast of cold wind that knocked Fletchinder off course, causing her to crash into the side of the battlefield. "Now, ice shard!"

"Dodge it and use flame charge again!" Niko commanded. Fletchinder quickly got up, not willing to lose this one, and shot off around the field, picking up speed with the flames coursing around her body. "Keep it up! DON'T GIVE UP!" Niko shouted. Fletchinder kept going, running the course of the battlefield while Mega Abomasnow kept firing off attacks. "Now, hit it!"

Fletchinder took a sharp turn and dove down at Mega Abomasnow.

"Jump!" Wulfric shouted. Niko and Fletchinder, both surprised by this, watched the massive Pokémon leap into the air and body slam Fletchinder into the ground. "Now, wood hammer!"

Abomasnow lifted up its arm, now glowing bright green, and slammed it down on Fletchinder's back. The Ember Pokémon cried out. Wulfric then directed an energy ball, and after that Mega Abomasnow let go of Fletchinder, giving her a chance to get back up.

"Fletchinder…can you keep going?" Niko asked. The Ember Pokémon nodded, staring down her opponent. She wasn't about to lose. Fletchinder wasn't stupid—she knew when she had the advantage. Niko taught her that. She wasn't about to lose to a Pokémon she could realistically beat, just like she lost against that old man's yellow-bell-like Pokémon. Not this time. This was Niko's most important battle, and it came down to her. Just like it did against that butterfly.

She took a deep breath, and felt a rush of energy engulf her. It wasn't flame charge, though. It was something different. Something deep within her.

Fletchinder began to glow a bright white color, and felt herself quickly growing. Now, she resembled a falcon. Her plumage was predominantly red-orange, with gray underparts and black tips on her long, pointed wings. Ovular orange spots dot her underside, and flame patterns mark the boundaries between colors on her body. Large yellow talons extended from the shaggy feathers on her legs. She now had a pointed crest atop her head and a black and yellow mask-like pattern around her eyes. Her black beak was hooked with a yellow cere. She also had long black tail-feathers marked with three yellow "v"-shapes. The tail ended in two points and had another feather sticking out of the base on each side, giving the impression of the fletching on the end of an arrow.

" _Talonflame, the Scorching Pokémon. Fire and flying type. In the fever of an exciting battle, it showers embers from the gaps between its feathers and takes to the air_ ," Charlotte's pokédex read.

"Woah…" Niko said, watching the embers fall between her feathers and hit the icy floor, melting it. "Talonflame! Let's win this! Use flame charge!"

Talonflame nodded, bursting into flames and rocketing towards Mega Abomasnow, much faster than before. She struck the Frost Tree Pokémon and knocked it onto a knee before turning around sharply and striking it in the back.

"Blizzard!" Wulfric commanded. Mega Abomasnow released another powerful gust of snow around itself, making it difficult for Talonflame to see. However, she only needed to hear, as Niko noticed this and began directing her.

"To the left now!" Niko shouted. "And straight ahead! Use steel wing!"

Talonflame shot down, her wings glowing bright gray. Before Mega Abomasnow could act, she struck it with the edge of her wings, knocking the Frost Tree Pokémon to the ground. Niko finally commanded her to use flame charge. She successfully did so, but Mega Abomasnow wasn't finished.

"Use steel wing!" Niko shouted. Instead, Talonflame turned to Niko and smirked. She engulfed herself in a bright blue aura that reminded him of brave bird. In fact, it _was_ brave bird! "Go!"

Talonflame dove down towards Mega Abomasnow and, dodging the wood hammer, struck the Frost Tree Pokémon and came out on the other side, wincing in pain from her own attack. Mega Abomasnow collapsed onto the ground and de-evolved back into Abomasnow.

"Abomasnow is unable to battle, Talonflame is the winner! The victory goes to Niko from Pallet Town!"

Niko smiled as he looked at Talonflame, who slowly glided over towards him, eventually collapsing in his arms and knocking him to the ground. "I'm very proud of you, Talonflame. I was worried at first about Mega Abomasnow, but you proved me wrong. You did it. _We_ did it."

Talonflame smiled, nuzzling Niko before falling asleep in his arms. He returned her and, as he was getting up, noticed Charlotte standing there.

As he got up she hugged him. "You're going to the Kalos League!" she said softly.

"And you're about to join me," Niko said, resting his head on top of hers. The gym was cold, but Niko felt warm in that moment. It was either the heat of the battle, or Charlotte. Niko was going to go with the latter. "Good luck."

"Thanks," Charlotte said with a smile as Niko took his place in the stands. Minutes later, Wulfric returned, presumably with healed Pokémon, and was ready to begin the battle. The referee explained the rules once more and, when both trainers were ready, allowed them to begin.

"Avalugg, you're up!" Wulfric commanded.

"Pupitar, I choose you! Use sandstorm!" she commanded, thrusting her arm outwards. The Hard Shell Pokémon shook his body vigorously, whipping up a sandstorm that looked awfully odd in an icy battlefield like the Snowbelle City Gym. "Now, rock slide!"

"Avalugg, gyro ball!" Wulfric commanded. The Iceberg Pokémon began to spin vigorously before launching itself across the ice-covered battlefield and towards Pupitar, who blocked the onslaught with a rock slide, hitting Avalugg and stopping it in its tracks. "Avalanche!"

"Rock slide again!" Charlotte commanded. "Now, iron head!"

"Gyro ball!" Wulfric commanded. Avalugg started spinning once more, quickly closing the distance between the two Pokémon as Pupitar shot across the field and struck the Iceberg Pokémon with enough force to launch it backwards. Charlotte smiled—her Pupitar was stronger than she imagined. "Now, use avalanche!"

"Through the avalanche! Use iron head again!" Charlotte commanded. Pupitar fired off again, using the full weight of his body to slide across the icy field and strike Avalugg. "ROCK SLIDE!"

As soon as the avalanche hit, Pupitar slid out of the way and conjured a rock slide directly above Avalugg, crushing the Iceberg Pokémon underneath. Pupitar sat there and waited to see what would come of his opponent. Moments later, a massive spinning body of ice crashed into Pupitar, causing it to slide out of control and crash into the wall to the side of the battlefield. The Hard Shell Pokémon, however, was still in the battle.

"Don't give up, Pupitar. You're not that kind of Pokémon," Charlotte said, turning back to Wulfric and Avalugg. "Use dark pulse!"

"Dodge it with gyro ball!" Wulfric shouted. Avalugg spun around the field, moving out of the way of the stream of dark energy and shifting its way towards Pupitar.

"Jump and use iron head!" Charlotte directed. Pupitar leapt into the air, albeit only a few feet, and turned his body so that his head was facing down, and fired at Avalugg as it came spinning towards him. The two Pokémon collided and, due to the force of the impact, repelled one another. "Dark pulse!"

Pupitar fired off another nexus of dark energy at Avalugg, who was clearly recovering from the iron head, and knocked it to the ground. Avalugg didn't get back up.

"Avalugg is unable to battle, Pupitar is the winner!" the referee declared. "Leader Wulfric will now use his second Pokémon!"

"Well done, Charlotte. I don't think Avalugg has had that exciting of a battle in a long time," he said, returning the Iceberg Pokémon. "Now, Cryogonal, I choose you!"

"Pupitar, you ready for round two?" Charlotte asked. Pupitar nodded, staring down his second opponent. "Let's go! Use rock slide!"

"First off, hail!" Wulfric commanded. "And now, dodge the rock slide!"

Cryogonal shifted around the falling rocks while changing the weather in the gym from sand to something more comfortable for the Crystallizing Pokémon. Wulfric then commanded it to use flash cannon, to which Charlotte responded with iron head.

Pupitar shot forward to meet the grand flash of light, only to get knocked backwards and crash into the ice. He tried to get back up but, after the lengthy battle with Avalugg, was unable to.

"Pupitar is unable to battle, Cryogonal is the winner!" the referee declared. "Challenger Charlotte will now use her second Pokémon!"

"Return, Pupitar. You did amazing out there, rest up. Smeargle, I choose you!" she shouted. "Use quick attack!"

"Cryogonal, ice beam!" Wulfric directed. Cryogonal attempted to fire off ice beam, even repeating the move, but Smeargle dodged each one before closing the gap between them and, with a spin move, fired off embers at the Crystallizing Pokémon's face, briefly lighting it on fire.

 _It got burnt…_ Charlotte thought to herself. "Hex!"

Smeargle landed on the ground and, also with her tail, fired of a purple and black ball of energy at her levitating opponent, sending it spinning out of control in the air. Charlotte then commanded Smeargle to use ember once more.

"Dodge it and use ice beam!" Wulfric said, calmly this time. Cryogonal regained control of its body and released a jet of ice energy at Smeargle, who blocked it briefly with ember before taking the hit and sliding backwards. Watching from the stands, Niko was surprised at how well balanced Smeargle was. She managed to slide across the ice like it was nothing. "Now, flash cannon!"

"Smeargle, use sketch!" Charlotte said. _Exactly what I've been waiting for_. Smeargle whipped her tail back out and shifted it side to side in the air, taking the blow from flash cannon but glowing a transparent aura while she did so. "Let's throw it back at them! Use flash cannon!"

"Cryogonal, block it with ice beam!" Wulfric commanded. He seemed thoroughly impressed. Both attacks hit in the middle of the field but, like in the previous match, one Pokémon managed to get around the resulting explosion and strike first. This time it was Smeargle who, on Charlotte's commanded, slid across the battlefield using quick attack, leapt into the air, spun around, and fired off embers from her tail, once more hitting Cryogonal in the face.

"Flash Cannon!" Charlotte commanded. While still in the air, Smeargle emitted a bright flash of light that hit her opponent, knocking the crystallizing Pokémon out of the air and onto the ground. It crashed onto the ice, defeated.

"Cryogonal is unable to battle, Smeargle is the winner!" the referee declared. "Leader Wulfric will now use his third and final Pokémon!"

"Abomasnow, you're up!" Wulfric commanded in his ordinarily deep tone of voice. "Use blizzard!"

"Smeargle, flash cannon!" Charlotte directed. Smeargle once more summoned a flash of light, concentrated in a stream of energy that hit Abomasnow through the blizzard and knocked the Frost Tree Pokémon to its knees. "Quick attack and ember!"

"Wait for it, Abomasnow…" Wulfric cautioned. He now had an idea of how fast this Smeargle was. "Now! Wood hammer!"

Before Smeargle could fire off a single ember, Abomasnow feinted to the side and slammed upwards diagonally, hitting Smeargle in the side and sending her hit into the air. Wulfric then commanded his Pokémon to use energy ball. This hit Smeargle midair and, upon her crashing into the ground, nearly defeating her.

"Finish it off with ice shard!" Wulfric shouted. Smeargle managed to dodge the move with quick attack, but as she got closer a second time, Abomasnow blew her to the side with blizzard. Smeargle hit the wall to the right of the gym, and collapsed in defeat.

"Smeargle is unable to battle, Abomasnow is the winner!" Charlotte will now use her third and final Pokémon!" the referee declared.

"It's all on you, now," Charlotte said, returning Smeargle and pulling out a third pokéball. "Let's see what you can really do! Delphox, I choose you!"

"Ah, another fire type. Well, you two are surely making it difficult for me to win here. That's fine—a appreciate fiery battles. Abomasnow, let's once again show these trainers the power of the ice type! Mega evolve!" Wulfric shouted, whipping out his ice locket, opening it up to reveal the Key Stone, and transforming his ace Pokémon into the behemoth it now was. "Use blizzard!"

"Delphox, go in with flame charge!" Charlotte commanded, thrusting her hand outwards. Delphox, just as it did as a Braixen, got lower to the ground and rocketed off, this time using the ice to speed her up. She broke through the blizzard and crashed into Mega Abomasnow who, in the heavy snow storm, slammed its opponent with wood hammer, knocking Delphox across the field and nearly hitting the wall at the edge. The Fox Pokémon, however, was able to maintain her composure, albeit barely.

Wulfric smirked. "This'll be an interesting finish to your final gym battle, that's for sure. Abomasnow, use energy ball!"

"Block it with psybeam!" Charlotte commanded. Delphox whipped out her new twig from underneath her fur robe and released a concentrated stream of psychic energy to force the energy ball to burst into a small explosion. "Now, flame charge!"

"Ice shard!" Wulfric commanded, although it hardly seemed to work—Delphox melted the attack and struck at Abomasnow, using the force from her attack to drag the heavy Frost Tree Pokémon across the ground. "Energy ball!"

"FLAME CHARGE!" Charlotte commanded loudly. She witnessed Delphox's fire change from a bright orange-red to a pure blue color, which was hotter than normal, orange-colored fire. "Woah…"

Delphox managed to shove Mega Abomasnow across the field, forcing it to slide down the ice until it came to a stop. The entire front of its body was covered in burns. Charlotte believed that she could end the match here. It only took one move.

"Mystical fire!" she shouted.

"Abomasnow, blizzard!" Wulfric commanded.

Delphox calmly attempted to ignore the heavy snow storm whipping up around her as she spun her twig in a circle in front of her, creating a ring of fire nearly as tall as she was. Then, in the center of the ring she pointed the twig directly at Mega Abomasnow and fired, a massive stream of flames jetting outwards towards the Frost Tree Pokémon. The ring of fire disappeared into the stream as it lit up the field—and melted it somewhat—in a bright orange glow.

Once the attack finished, Charlotte and Delphox simply stood there, waiting for Mega Abomasnow to respond. Instead, a normal Abomasnow stumbled out of the smoke resulting from the attack. It collapsed face-first into the melted ground.

"Abomasnow is unable to battle, Delphox is the winner!" the referee declared. "The winner is Charlotte from Castelia City!"

Charlotte released a fresh breath of cold air as she looked up at her Delphox running towards her. They quickly embraced. Charlotte was over the moon. She had finally qualified for her first Pokémon League.

"Niko, Charlotte," Wulfric began, "Usually I am the determiner of which trainers make it to the Kalos League, as most trainers come to me for their last badge. Both of you have proven to me, through your skill and raw power, that you are both capable of handling the tough battles that await you at the league. Here, as proof of your victory, I award you both with the Iceberg Badge."

Niko and Charlotte both took the small, ice-blue badge in the shape of a snowflake with an iceberg in the center of it. Once more, they looked at one another, only this time they hugged tightly. They made it. They had finally qualified, and they did it together.

"By the way, Wulfric," Niko said as he let go of Charlotte, "where _is_ the Kalos League?"

"Ah, great question. It's now in Lumiose City! I saw 'now' because it only became so several years ago, when they erected a stadium in the center of the city."

"Lumiose City, eh?" Niko said. "Looks like we're headed back there, then," Niko then remembered something as he prepared to leave. "Oh, Wulfric, here's Aurorus. May I take her back when I get to Lumiose City? It'll only be for the remainder of the conference."

"That's fine. I think she'll be able to handle it. But I can hold onto her until then."

"Thank you so much," Niko said, "and thank you for the battle!"

"No, thank _you_ Niko. I haven't had a battle quite that energetic in a _long_ time. I think I needed it more than I realized."

Niko nodded, and together with Charlotte and Warren, he exited the Snowbelle City Gym. They now had one final destination—the Kalos League in Lumiose City.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Long episode, I know. Hopefully this gym battle was a good enough note to end on, as far as gyms in Kalos are concerned. Also, I usually like to keep the episodes to once a day, but I've been behind on my personal schedule for this series and am trying to play catch-up, hence the two-a-days. If I keep this up, i'll be back to once a day soon. Either way, enjoy!**


	40. Into the Winding Woods

**Episode 40: Into the Winding Woods**

"It'll take a couple weeks to get to Lumiose City," Warren said as he gave Charlotte her guidebook back, "at least, that's what it looks like. Lumiose City is roughly the same distance to Snowbelle as Snowbelle was to Anistar City."

"Gives us plenty of time to prepare for the Kalos League," Niko said as he sat back and looked up at the ceiling of the restaurant they were in, celebrating his and Charlotte's final gym victory against Wulfric, qualifying them for the Kalos League.

This meant that, soon enough, he'd have to attempt to go as far as he could, with the hope of actually winning a Pokémon League this time around. He was the runner-up nearly a year ago, and might've had a chance to win had Harmony not used a Tornadus. To be fair, if he had seen it coming he could have strategized beforehand and had a better chance of taking it down, but it came as a complete surprise to him. He wasn't about to let that happen again.

But he was nervous. Not only was he holding himself to the high standard of making it to the finals again, but others likely were, too. His friends (with the obvious exception of Charlotte), even if they didn't want to admit it, were likely hoping for the same as well. He knew Warren secretly was. Some of the gym leaders he's faced in Kalos—Ramos, Wulfric, Gurkinn, likely Clemont as well—were likely to watch his matches closely. He had to go in guns blazing.

Niko knew he could make it at least to the quarterfinals, and potentially the quarterfinals, but it wouldn't be easy. This time, he knew he'd likely be facing mega-evolved Pokémon, since they were initially discovered in Kalos, and Key Stones are handed out to trainers here who deserve them. He already knew one entrant capable of it—Wally, and Ian was likely capable of it, too. However he, Niko, was not.

He had two mega stones, and no idea how to use either. One of them was with his Venusaur, who refused to use it, and he didn't know who the owner of the second mega stone—the one he found in Terminus Cave—was, but he figured it belonged to a Pokémon _he_ owned. Why else would he have sensed its presence?

He, now more than ever, wanted to work with Venusaur on mega evolution. He felt more confident about it, but he knew the Seed Pokémon would disagree, and he had to respect that.

"So, I think we'll just head west for a bit, and then north," Warren was saying to Charlotte when Niko left his headspace and re-joined the conversation. "Oh, welcome back, Niko. Glad you could join us."

"Heh, sorry. Just a lot on my mind."

"Regarding the Kalos League?"

"Yep…" Niko said, "it's going to be intense, that's for sure."

"Well, just do your best. I think you and Charlotte can both make it to the finals. You've certainly got the Pokémon for it."

"We'll see after these couple of weeks," Niko said, taking a sip of tea.

* * *

The road west of Snowbelle City initially took them through a snowy forest along the edge of the mountain range they saw before entering the city. After nearly a day's worth of walking, the trio made a stop on the edge of the forest, where the snow was beginning to recede with the oncoming of spring. As the days were getting slightly longer now, it meant more time for Niko and Charlotte to train with their Pokémon.

Niko, on his part, wanted to help Slurpuff learn a new move. He realized that, while Slurpuff managed to defeat one of Wulfric's Pokémon, the moves she knew were relatively outdated for a Pokémon as experienced as she was. After looking in the pokédex for moves Slurpuff was capable of learning, he came across one in particular that he knew well enough. It was the first fairy move he remembered witnessing: play rough.

The concept seemed simply enough—Slurpuff would attack her opponent relentlessly, essentially beating it into submission. To practice this, Niko decided a tree trunk would do for starters.

"Alright Slurpuff, use play rough!" Niko commanded on the closest tree to the two of them. The Meringue Pokémon nodded, charging forward and slapping and kicking the trunk. Eventually, a think, white smokes enveloped them. "Is that normal…?" Niko wondered, trying to remember if the klefki he fought did that. Concluding that it didn't, he continued asking for Slurpuff to attack until she got the move down.

Niko's other Pokémon also attempted to learn new moves. Clawitzer was working on another pulse move, this time dragon pulse. Now that he was evolved, learning the "pulse" moves were a little easier, and he had little difficulty in mastering it. The problem was controlling the high-powered attack. On their second day out from Snowbelle City, Clawitzer nearly knocked out Delphox, who was busy practicing her psyshock. This led to a brief fight between the two that nearly fainted the other.

Quilladin wasn't intent on learning any move in particular, but he did want to get stronger, usually practicing seed bomb with Charlotte's Gogoat, or improving the speed of his rollout, as well as his control over the move. Talonflame—Niko's newly evolved fire type, was trying to master not just brave bird, but also flare blitz, which was Niko's idea. Both moves proved to be difficult and, due to the recoil damage Talonflame took from both, made practicing them challenging.

Charlotte, on the other hand, was also trying to teach moves to her Pokémon. Frillish was on the verge of fully mastering "wring out," having practiced several times on her much larger, and far heavier, teammates. Gogoat was attempting to learn leaf blade, a move that Charlotte had no experience teaching, and had no idea how her Mount Pokémon would even use it. Pupitar was simply trying to learn a ground-type move, but Charlotte didn't feel like trying to teach it earthquake in the middle of a forest was the best idea, as that was the move that first came to mind. Lastly, Sawsbuck was attempting to learn nature power. This was a relatively easy move for the Season Pokémon to learn, as he was more prone to nature's changes than any other Pokémon on his team. Plus, with the Kalos League using multiple different fields for each battle, it seemed like the ideal move to have on hand.

The following day, their third day on the road to Lumiose City, the trio were sitting in a forest clearing eating while their Pokémon played around. While eating, Niko looked up and recognized one of the trees above him. It had a purple flower coming out of one of the branches. He recognized it due to how unusual it seemed. Standing up, he noticed the other trees looked the same as well.

"Hey, guys…" Niko said, pointing to the trees. "These all look familiar, don't they?"

Charlotte and Warren looked up to the trees, and then to the environment around them. They had definitely been here before. "Yeah, they are…are we lost?" Charlotte wondered.

"Looks like it. Which way did we go last time?" Niko asked. Warren and Charlotte both pointed in the direction behind him. "Alright, let's go that way next," Niko said, pointing to his right. They nodded, and took that route this time. During the rest of their trek through the forest that day, they took different turns and paths that they normally wouldn't take. After a couple of hours they felt like they were making progress, and took a quick stop in a nearby clearing, remembering exactly where they had previously come from.

That's when they noticed a jigglypuff walking around nearby. Curious, Charlotte pulled out her pokédex to observe it:

" _Jigglypuff, the Balloon Pokémon. Normal and fairy type. It captivates foes with its huge, round eyes, then lulls them to sleep by singing a soothing melody_."

"It's cute," she said, "should I try to catch it?"

"That's up to you," Niko said with a shrug. As Charlotte was about to summon a Pokémon, she heard a rumbling in the forest. Out of a pair of bushes came a massive, panda-like Pokémon. It looked furious, but not at the jigglypuff. At her.

"What the—"

"GOROO!" the Pokémon roared out, leaping over the bushes and the jigglypuff and landing in front of it before charging at Charlotte.

"Quilladin, I choose you!" Niko commanded, throwing out a pokéball containing the Spiny Armor Pokémon. "Use needle arm!"

The Pokémon—one that Niko and Charlotte quickly identified as a Pangoro—slammed a glowing white fist down on top of Quilladin, who matched it with needle arm. The two held that position for a few moments while the trio got their bearings together.

"Litleo, use ember!" Warren shouted in an attempt to help out Quilladin.

"Gogoat, use vine whip to hold it down!" Charlotte commanded.

Pangoro used what looked like sky uppercut to knocking Quilladin away, hammer arm a second time to blow back the embers, and used crunch to bite down on Gogoat's vines before turning to the trainers again.

"What does it want with us?" Warren wondered while Quilladin continued to fight Pangoro, with the latter knocking it down continuously.

"No idea," Niko said, trying to think of a reason why they were being randomly attacked.

"Oh, I know," Charlotte said, turning heads. "Maybe it has some connection to this jigglypuff? Is that right, Pangoro?"

Pangoro wasn't listening, instead charging straight for them. Quilladin, instinctively, got back up and tackled Pangoro, trying to halt its advances. The Daunting Pokémon instead picked Quilladin up and tossed him to the side before charging at Charlotte, Niko, and Warren.

Suddenly, a bright light emitted from nearby, and moments later a massive creature tackled Pangoro in the side, thrusting it into a tree nearby before turning and looking at Niko.

It was a bipedal Pokémon of roughly Charlotte's height. It possessed a prominent domed, armor-liked shell similar to that of a chestnut. The armor was pale beige in coloration with four large spines jutting out of the back. The armor was trimmed with red and green bands, with the green on the outermost edge. There was an additional spine protruding from the armor over each of his shoulders, which were connected by a green breastplate. His body was colored similarly to the shell, and his long limbs and tail were banded with plates of armor. The top surfaces of the tail and arms were protected by green armor, and the arms had two small spines. He had fluffy white fur on its belly and fringing his face like a beard. He also had four pointed teeth and a plate of beige armor atop its head, similar to a helmet.

" _Chesnaught, the Spiny Armor Pokémon. Grass and fighting type. When it takes a defensive posture with its fists guarding its face, it could withstand a bomb blast_ ," Niko's pokédex stated.

"Chesnaught…you fully evolved!" he cheered. Chesnaught nodded. The little Chespin that never listened to Niko was now a tall, fully evolved Pokémon that saved him and his friends from being beaten to a pulp by a Pangoro. He smirked. "Let's win this, buddy. Use needle arm!"

Chesnaught charged at Pangoro, just a foot and half shorter than his opponent. The two locked arms in hammer arm and needle arm, neither will to let go. Litleo and Gogoat fired off attacks, but neither seemed to do much. Chesnaught then let go, spun around, and covered his body in what amounted to a shield. Pangoro, knowing no better, charged at Chesnaught and was immediately blown backwards.

"That…was that an attack?" Niko said, pulling out his pokédex. "Spiky shield? You learned a new move?"

Chesnaught nodded, unfurling himself and standing directly in between his trainer and the Pangoro who, after feeling particularly injured by the attack, retreated into the forest with the jigglypuff.

"What a day," Warren said, picking up Litleo. "I wonder what that Pangoro was up to. Protecting the jigglypuff, you said?" he asked Charlotte, who was also in the process of getting back on her feet.

"Looks like it. It would've seemed weird otherwise. I mean think about it: Pangoro don't usually just attack out of the blue. They might not look like it, but they're supposedly very compassionate Pokémon. According to my pokédex, they don't put up with bullying. I think it was protecting that jigglypuff. How those two Pokémon are related, I have no idea."

Niko eyed Charlotte curiously. He knew she was smart, but it dawned on him in that moment that she was _very_ smart. "That makes a lot of sense to me," he eventually said, receiving a warm smile in return.

"Thank you," she said, petting Gogoat. "I wonder if it's native to this forest. Think it lives here?"

"Probably. Doubtful it's with a trainer, or a herd of others like it. Pangoro don't move in herds, do they?" Warren asked.

"Likely not."

"Right. Anyway, let's keep moving. We shouldn't get lost," Warren said. Putting Litleo down, he walked with his friends through the confusingly dense forest, hoping to eventually find a way out.


	41. Hidden village

**Episode 41: Hidden village**

It hadn't been more than a few hours before Niko and his friends discovered the Pokémon Village. After their engagement with a wild pangoro and jigglypuff, one in which Niko's Quilladin evolved into Chesnaught and drove the pangoro off, the trio continued through the Winding Woods until they stumbled upon a small village resting at the base of a valley. A waterfall ran through the middle of it, with small huts on both sides. Oddly enough, it reminded Niko of their experience in the badlands, where they wandered upon a small village of primarily dragon type Pokémon.

At first, the trio had no idea it was a village exclusively for Pokémon—they assumed humans lived there as well. However, after walking into the valley, they were stopped by two amoonguss—large, mushroom-like Pokémon—who acted as security guards for the village.

"Hi, I'm Niko. This is Charlotte and her Gogoat, and Warren. We're just passing through on our way to Lumiose City," Niko said diplomatically. The amoonguss eyed him carefully before creating space between them and allowing them through. "Thank you."

While walking through the small village, they noticed all of the huts were relatively small—as in, Niko couldn't fit in most of them. That's when he realized this wasn't an ordinary village. "Umm…people don't live here, do they?" Charlotte asked as they were passing through.

"Doesn't look like it," Niko responded as he watched a gothorita run out of one of the small huts. "Did they make this place all on their own?"

"No, they had a little help," a familiar voice said from behind. Turning around, the trio saw Wulfric standing there. "Welcome to Pokémon Village!" he said, holding his hands out. "I'll be honest, I didn't expect to see you three passing through here. It's much too south for the road you have to take, right?"

"What? We're going to Lumiose City, right?" Niko said, confused.

"Yes, but instead of going west and north, you went west and south. Pretty far south, I might add," Wulfric said with a grin.

"So what is this place, exactly?" Warren asked.

"This is a village for Pokémon who wish to live in hiding from humans, for a variety of reasons. I'm the only human they've really befriended, but I suppose they trusted you enough to let you through."

"Well, we're just passing by," Niko said.

Wulfric nodded, and absentmindedly walked over to a foongus and began to pet it as he sat down on a log. The foongus smiled as it looked up at the Snowbelle Gym Leader. He was unusually caring with Pokémon, which made Niko feel better, since one of his Pokémon is in Wulfric's hands.

It was then that they heard a louder, heavier Pokémon walking by. Niko and his friends were surprised to see a large pangoro standing nearby, looking furious. "Is that…?" Niko asked, stepping back and instinctively holding out a pokéball.

"Ah, pangoro!" Wulfric said cheerfully. "Have you met these three? They're quite nice peo—"

"GOROOO!" Pangoro roared out as it charged at Niko and his friends.

"Pangoro, stop!" Wulfric said sternly, standing back up and glaring at the Daunting Pokémon. Pangoro turned, saw Wulfric's frighteningly firm expression, and backed off. "How do you know them?"

"We got into a, well, a fight earlier today," Charlotte explained. "We were in this forest—"

"The Winding Woods?" Wulfric wondered. "No wonder you're off the path to Lumiose."

"Yes, exactly. Anyway, we saw this wild jigglypuff, and before we even did _anything_ —battle it, catch it, whatever—this pangoro comes out of nowhere and attacks us."

"Pangoro, is this true?" Wulfric asked. The Daunting Pokémon turned, nodded, and drooped its head. "You see, this pangoro prides himself on being a protector of the Pokémon Village. He will go to any length to make sure the inhabitants here are safe and secure. When a wild decides to go out adventuring, he will follow them to make sure they're all right."

Niko, Charlotte, and Warren looked up at the pangoro. This is certainly _not_ what they expected from a Pokémon that nearly tried to kill them, but it proved Charlotte's theory correct—this pangoro was just protecting those he cared about.

"Pangoro, we're sorry for the confusion, too," Niko said. "We were just scared, that's all, as I'm sure you were."

Wulfric smirked. "You're being very diplomatic, Niko. Pangoro—you know better. Sometimes it isn't in your best interest to preemptively strike at an opponent, especially if you're not sure if they're an opponent at all," he turned to the trio, "it's getting latte. How would you three like to stay here for the night? I'd rather you not get lost in the Winding Woods when it's dark out."

"Sure, I'm fine with that," Niko said, turning to his friends. They both nodded as well.

* * *

"So, Wulfric," Warren began, "how do you find Pokémon to bring to this village?"

"I don't, usually," Wulfric said between drinking homemade tea from the village, "sometimes they'll come here, presumably seeking brief refuge. I've had Valerie of the Laverre City Gym help me speak with them to get an understand of where they're coming from—usually from negligent trainers, or environmental disaster, like an earthquake or wildfire. A fair amount of them are refugee Pokémon who simply need a home. That's what I've provided for them, here."

"I think that's amazing," Charlotte said with wonder. "Do any of them ever leave?"

"Some do, but if they do I try to get them going on the right foot. I help them find a place that's comfortable for them to live in, and personally go with them there. I've been all over Kalos because of that—and have even gone to other regions for very specific Pokémon."

"Wow…" Niko said, sitting back. "You're pretty active, then."

"I might not look like it but, yes I am," he said with a loud chuckle.

"What about that Pangoro?" Niko wondered. "Where does he come from?"

"I've never quite figured that one out," Wulfric said, sitting back against a tree with a perplexed expression. "My belief is that he used to be owned by a trainer who abandoned him, which would explain why he is so strong. Not many wild Pokémon fight in the same way that Pangoro does. But I could be wrong, I'll admit. There's no way for me to truly know, I suppose, unless I asked him, but he doesn't seem to want to talk about it."

"Then it might just be that he was neglected by a trainer," Niko said, looking over. Pangoro was busy watching some Pokémon play nearby. Moving around the leaf on the edge of his mouth, he turned and carefully eyed Niko. "Which doesn't make sense—why would a trainer release such a strong Pokémon?"

"Beats me. Pangoro is also a uniquely caring Pokémon, too," Wulfric added. "I think he'd do well with a trainer that showed the same level of care that he gives to others. It's only fair."

Niko was about to say something when the four of them smelled smoke in the distance. Instinctively, Wulfric stood up and looked to his left. Off, near the edge of the Pokémon Village, was a burning tree.

"The treehouse!" Wulfric shouted. "The treehouse is on fire!"

"Clawitzer, I choose you!" Niko shouted, summoning the howitzer Pokémon. "Use water pulse at the top of the tree!"

"Poliwhirl, water gun!" Warren commanded.

"Frillish, water pulse as well!" Charlotte shouted.

"Wait!" Wulfric roared out. "There are _Pokémon_ in there!"

Before saying anything, Niko dashed off, ignoring his friends and Wulfric. He ran to the base of the tree, noticing Pangoro already there. "Pangoro, let me help. Talonflame, let's go!" Niko said, summoning another Pokémon. "Go inside and get as many Pokémon as you can out, alright?" Talonflame nodded, shooting up into the burning tree and coming out minutes later with a small igglybuff and two jigglypuffs on her second trip inside. Then, the water hit the tree, bursting out from the top of the tree and spraying water everywhere. Poliwhirl got close up to it and used water gun to get the places missed by the water gun.

Within minutes, the fire was out, but the tree—and the treehouse, too—were burnt to a crisp. The blackened wood began to rip off and fall to the ground in large chunks.

"Guess we'll just have to repair it in the morning," Niko suggested when the other three got over to the treehouse. "Thanks Talonflame, Clawitzer," his two Pokémon nodded.

"Niko, Charlotte, Warren," Wulfric said with amazement, "thank you three so much. I truly appreciated the help."

"No problem, Wulfric," Niko said before noticing Pangoro in his peripheries. He didn't say anything, only looked briefly at Niko and then back at the burnt treehouse. "What do you think caused it?"

"It wasn't lightning, probably just an accident," Wulfric said. Then, out of nowhere, a net came down on Pangoro. The four trainers turned to see him trying to escape. "What's the meaning of this!?"

"Oh, Wulfric you old man," a young woman in a dark red outfit said. She wore glasses (at night, for whatever reason) that seemed to match her short, dark purple hair.

"Celosia…? Celosia of—"

"Team Flare? Yes. You're talking to the new leader of Team Flare!" she said, whipping out a pokéball.

"What do you want with _these_ Pokémon?" Wulfric shouted back.

"We need strong Pokémon to re-birth Team Flare, and this Pangoro seemed to fit the bill. I've been watching the Pokémon Village for some time now, waiting for the right moment to strike! And now, I'm ready to tell the world that Team Flare is back, and better than ever!"

"You're insane, you know that?" Wulfric said, pulling out a pokéball.

"Oh, what? You're going to fight me? Well, this won't be like last time. You don't have those meddling children and the other gym leaders to help you!"

"Those children have gone on to be far more powerful than you could ever hope to be," Wulfric said. "And you know exactly who I'm talking about."

"Unfortunately, I do. But they too will fall. Manectric, I choose you!"

"Wulfric," Niko said, "we've got this. Chesnaught, you're up!"

"Oh? Got new trainers to fight your battles for you?" Celosia snickered. "Manectric, use thunder fang!"

"Spiky shield!" Niko commanded.

Chesnaught got low to the ground, curling himself up as the Manectric crashed down on him, whipping backwards before crashing onto the ground, wincing. "GET UP!" Celosia demanded. Manectric slowly, but surely, got back up, but not before taking a seed bomb to the side and getting knocked back down.

"Chesnaught, needle arm!" Niko commanded. The Spiny Armor Pokémon's arm burst into a green aura as he charged down the field and slammed it against Manectric, knocking it to the ground a third time.

Meanwhile, Charlotte and Warren were cutting the net using Leavanny and Gogoat's leaf blades, releasing Pangoro who, now in a fit of rage, charged at Celosia.

"Wait! Pangoro!" Niko shouted, holding his hand out. Pangoro stopped, furious. "Don't hurt her. We don't hurt humans. We defeat them in battle."

Pangoro, for whatever unknown reason, then nodded, and turned to Manectric. However, realizing that her Pokémon was defeated, Celosia returned it, sighed deeply, and looked up at the four trainers, Pangoro, and Chesnaught. "We will be back, and stronger than ever. Remember this moment."

She then dashed off into the forest behind her.

* * *

The next morning, Niko woke up to see Pangoro tearing down the burnt treehouse and preparing to re-build it with a pile of wooden planks that he, supposedly, chopped himself. Curious, he got up, walked past his friends, and approached the Daunting Pokémon.

"Need help?" he asked. Pangoro turned, eyed him carefully, but eventually shook his head. "You sure? It'll go faster if you have others helping you. That way, those jigglypuff can go back into their treehouse quicker."

Pangoro threw down the burnt plank he was holding and impatiently looked at Niko before finally nodding and pointing to a nearby plank. Niko got the message, and began climbing up the ladder to the top of the treehouse to replace some of the wooden planks. He needed a fair amount of instruction from Pangoro, and the process was taking longer than he intended, but eventually the two of them managed to put together most of it. Towards the end of the project Warren, Charlotte, and Wulfric helped out as well, and by midday they had the treehouse put back together with unburnt wood.

"There," Niko said, climbing back down to see their handiwork. "Good job, Pangoro," Niko said, holding out his hand. The Daunting Pokémon looked at him, but eventually shook Niko's hand with his paw.

After a brief lunch, the trio were getting ready to leave. "So, you'll want to go that way," Wulfric said, pointing to a path leading them past the waterfall and out of the valley. "It'll take you northwest, and onto route 21. Take that road and you'll be in Lumiose City in a week, maybe a week and a half by walking."

"Thanks for everything again, Wulfric," Niko said as he flung his bag around his shoulder.

"I shoulder be thanking you three. You guys are pretty incredible, I'll admit."

Niko then shook the gym leader's hand before turning to Pangoro. The Daunting Pokémon was watching them from a nearby tree, leaning against it in a "cool" sort of way. Niko then waved to him as well, before getting an idea.

"So Wulfric," Niko said, "you really don't know where Pangoro comes from?"

"No, not exactly. Why?"

"Give me a moment," Niko said to Charlotte and Warren before approaching the Pangoro. "Hey."

Pangoro merely acknowledged him.

"I don't know where you came from, or if you had a previous trainer, but how would you like to come with me?" Niko asked. Pangoro raised an eyebrow curiously. "I'm a Pokémon trainer, and I've been travelling through Kalos collecting all eight gym badges, only just recently defeating Wulfric and qualifying for the Kalos League, where I'm headed next. It's a tournament with some of the most powerful trainers in the region, and I want to take you with me. I think that we work well together, and I want to continue that. So," Niko held out a pokéball. "Would you like to join?"

Pangoro nodded, but got into a fighting stance instead. Smirking, Niko took several steps back, and sent out Chesnaught.

"Use seed bomb!" Niko shouted. Chesnaught opened his mouth and fired off glowing green seeds at Pangoro, who shifted around the makeshift battlefield. Niko was surprised at how nimble the very large Pokémon actually was. It then charged forward towards Chesnaught and slammed an arm downwards, only to be blocked by needle arm. "Well done, both of you!" Niko shouted. "Chesnaught, spiky shield!"

Anticipating this, Pangoro jumped backwards, rendering the move ineffective. He then charged forwards again and used sky uppercut, only for Chesnaught to back away at the last moment and hit Pangoro with another seed bomb, this time succeeding in hitting it.

"Alright, go pokéball!" Niko shouted, throwing out a generic pokéball at Pangoro, deciding that he had fought enough. The Daunting Pokémon went into the pokéball, fell to the ground, and began to wiggle until it eventually clicked, indicating that the capture was successful. "You did a great job, Chesnaught. And now," he said, picking up the pokéball. "You have a new friend and rival to compete with."

Niko walked back to his friends and Wulfric, holding the pokéball in his hands.

"Well done, Niko!" Warren said excitedly.

"Hopefully he doesn't try to kill us on our sleep," Charlotte said, only half-jokingly.

"Niko," Wulfric said, "thank you."

Understanding what the gym leader was telling him, Niko nodded. "Anytime, Wulfric."

"Now, good luck in the Kalos League to the both of you. I'll be watching for sure," he said as he waved to the trio, who were now back on the road towards Lumiose City and the Kalos League.


	42. The lost Noibat!

**Episode 42: The lost Noibat!**

"Litleo, use take down!" Warren commanded. The Lion Cub Pokémon dashed forward, almost aimlessly, towards his opponent, Charlotte's Gogoat. The Mount Pokémon quickly shifted to the right and barraged Litleo with seed bomb, launching him to the side and into the grass. "Use ember!"

"Block it with razor leaf!" Charlotte directed. Gogoat fired off a torrent of sharp leaves that not only hit the embers, distinguishing them with ease, but also hit Litleo, launching him through the air and back onto the ground. "Well done!"

"Litleo, can you keep going?" Warren asked. Litleo looked up and him and nodded. _You've got quite the determination, buddy_ , Warren thought. He had had this Litleo for a couple of weeks now, and while he didn't battle often, Warren found him to be strong enough to hold his own against more seasoned battlers on his friend's teams. His Litleo also had a more playful personality than he was used to, at least compared to Poliwhirl, Tranquil, and Leavanny.

The two continued to spar until Litleo, who certainly did not have the same kind of endurance that Gogoat had, was too exhausted to continue. Warren sat down with him and ate lunch while Charlotte continued with Gogoat, eventually nailing down his leaf blade attack.

The trio were now only several days away from Lumiose City, having travelled along route 21, as instructed by Wulfric, for some time already. The Kalos League, they discovered, was going to start only a day or so _after_ they were supposed to arrive. Warren helped make all of the arrangements for Sydney to show up to watch, and Charlotte and Niko both called their mothers to inform them as well. Niko thought about trying to contact Brittany and JJ, but he had no idea where either of them were.

Charlotte, for her part, was getting more and more nervous. She didn't quite feel ready, yet she knew she was. Her Pokémon were strong, and more than capable of handling whatever challenges came their way. She also knew that Niko was stressed out, too. She could tell from not just his facial expressions, but his speech. It was different; off, in a way. She knew that once they got to Lumiose City, and started actually competing, that these feelings would soon go away. She was certain of it.

She could also tell her Pokémon were feeling anxious, too, although she was less certain of why. Two of her Pokémon seemed confident, comparatively speaking—Smeargle, and Delphox. Delphox, having defeated three ace Pokémon for three different gym leaders—two of them mega evolutions—felt like she could handle the Pokémon in the Kalos League. Charlotte saw this in the way she attacked: she never hesitated, never wavered. Smeargle, for her part, simply knew she could handle it. Charlotte and Smeargle had been together for some time now—she was Charlotte's first Pokémon—and they understood one another quite well. Smeargle, having participated in a few gym battles herself, felt more confident in her abilities, particularly her speed, as she was getting faster with each coming day.

Of all of Charlotte's Pokémon, Pupitar was the most nervous. His iron head and dark pulse attacks consistently missed, and he lost the ability to use rock slide on occasion. Charlotte worried about this, and tried to figure out what was going wrong. "Is he nervous?" she asked Niko as the two watched him completely miss his dark pulse target—Pangoro.

"Yeah, he's definitely nervous."

"Why is that?" Charlotte wondered.

"Hmm…" Niko said, thinking for a moment, "I think Pupitar, generally speaking, has a slight confidence issue. Remember how long it took him to master rock slide? Of all moves? Maybe he doesn't always believe he can do something. Plus, there's another thing: think about this, he is the only one capable of mega evolving on your team, and he's known that for virtually his entire life. The need to not just evolve, but to evolve so he can mega evolve, must be stressful."

"You're right…" Charlotte said, drooping her head, "I must've put too much emphasis on mega evolving. I just—"

"You want to see him do his best?"

"Yes! Yes I do!" Charlotte exclaimed. "I want _him_ to succeed, not just for my sake, though!"

"You should tell him that, then," Niko said with a wink. However, Charlotte didn't quite get that chance, as Pupitar simply collapsed from exhaustion after using a failed iron head, again on Pangoro. Charlotte returned the Hard Shell Pokémon to let him rest, choosing not to bother him with any talk of the Kalos League.

"Niko?" she asked that evening, when they were sitting around a campfire conjured up by Delphox.

"Yeah? What's up?" Niko asked.

"How did you feel before your first Pokémon League? It was the Indigo League, right?"

"Oh, man…" Niko said, leaning back slightly, "that was so long ago!" he thought for a moment, trying to come up with the right words to describe himself nearly five years prior. "I…was nervous. Very nervous. At first, I didn't know how to handle it, and so I really pushed my Pokémon to their limits. There was no feeling in my training, no bond with my Pokémon, and they suffered as a result. I lashed out at two of them in particular, and it was just terrible.

"And then I just let it all out to Venusaur—then an Ivysaur. I told him that, y'know, I thought I could handle it all, since I was technically qualified. But that training didn't make me feel any more confident in myself. I didn't think I had what it took. But Ivysaur helped me through it. I didn't know what he was saying exactly, but it I figured he was trying to help me work through it all. Because he wasn't going to give up on me, so why would I give up on myself? Or him? Or any of my other Pokémon? I was qualified for a reason, and I was worthy of competing."

Niko didn't think it was right to mention that, only three battles into it, he had lost to his closest friend, and broke down quickly after that. Charlotte didn't need to hear that side of the story.

"Thanks, Niko," she said, her half-lit by the flames. Niko nodded, and returning to his own thoughts.

Like Charlotte, he too was nervous. But he felt slightly more confident when he considered that his Pokémon weren't as nervous. Pangoro and Chesnaught were ready to battle; Clawitzer hardly showed emotion; Slurpuff seemed ambivalent; Talonflame was only slightly nervous, but not that much. He didn't know how Aurorus felt, but he figured if she was training with Wulfric, then she was probably going to be just fine as well.

* * *

Route 21—the final stretch on their Kalos journey—was less forested than most of the region. The trio largely saw plains, low rolling hills, and rivers running through them. It was, in essence, the ideal place to train, and Niko and Charlotte took advantage of it. During one of their training sessions, on the edge of a river, Charlotte's Frillish used wring out on Smeargle, launching her into a river.

When she hit the water and went under, Smeargle noticed something go underneath at roughly the same time. It was a _Pokémon_ , but not one that she recognized immediately. Quickly anchoring herself with her tail and grabbing the Pokémon, Smeargle raised her heard out of the water. With all of her might, lifted the small Pokémon up and out onto the bank of the river before pulling herself out with Frillish's help.

"Smeargle!" Charlotte shouted when she saw what happened. She sprinted over to the river bank and slid onto her knees to see the Painter Pokémon trying to perform some sort or CPR on the small Pokémon she pulled out. "What is this?"

" _Noibat, the Sound Wave Pokémon. Flying and Dragon type. Even a robust wrestler will become dizzy and unable to stand when exposed to its 200,000-hertz ultrasonic waves_ ," Niko's pokédex read.

"Must've been that thing we saw fall out of the sky at the same time Smeargle was flung into the water," Niko proposed.

Smeargle—with Charlotte's help—pressed on the tiny Pokémon's chest until it began to cough up water and breathe more steadily. Noibat opened its eyes and looked at Smeargle, and then Charlotte before shedding a tear and screeching loudly.

"AH! MAKE IT STOP!" Niko shouted.

"There…th-there," Charlotte said as she picked up the noibat and held it over her shoulder like a baby, trying to calm it down while ignoring the ear-damaging sound. Soon enough, the noibat calmed down , and Charlotte stared it in the eyes. "Hi. I'm Charlotte, and this is my Pokémon Smeargle. That's Niko over there, and Warren," she said, pointing to her two male companions. "We saw you drowning in that river, and my Smeargle was able to get you out of there," she turned to Smeargle, "thank you, by the way."

Smeargle scratched her head nervously before getting a tight hug from the Noibat. It was a lavender bat-like Pokémon with two clawed fingers on each wing and two long toes on each foot. Its hips and chest were covered in black fur. It had large yellow eyes, two purple teardrop-shaped spots on the front of its face, and large teardrop-shaped ears that resembled loudspeakers.

"It's really cute," Charlotte said as Noibat was looking around at its surroundings, trying to determine where it was exactly. "Where do you come from, Noibat?"

The Sound Wave Pokémon turned to Charlotte and then looked up at the sky. Either it had no idea, or it thought she was being literal.

"It's possible that Noibat is still trying to figure out what happened to it," Niko deduced. "It did _fall out of the sky_ , after all."

"Right, but…" Charlotte hesitated, sitting back and pondering this. "Noibat, do you come from around here? Is this familiar to you?" Noibat turned and shook its head. "Okay. Where are Noibat supposed to live?"

"Well, they're bats, right? Probably caves?" Niko said, "Remember when we were in the Reflection Cave? We fought that large bat Pokémon that looked kinda like Noibat."

"It was Noivern, which I'm sure evolves from Noibat," Warren said, remembering the instance when his Pidove evolved to Tranquil to help them get past the Noivern and out of the cave.

"So, you probably come from a cave…" Charlotte said, looking around. There was no cave in sight. "Do you have a family?" Noibat looked at Charlotte, tilted its head to the side, and shrugged. This wasn't helpful at all. "Alright then. You don't know where you come from, and you don't know if you have a family. Hey, Niko, can you look in my guidebook and see if there's any mountains near Lumiose City?"

Niko ran to her bag and picked up the guidebook. He hurriedly looked through it before shrugging. "There's no mention of _anything_ on this route. Nothing at all."

"Geez…alright, Noibat, why don't you come along with us for a while until we find you a home. You came from that direction, right?" Charlotte said, pointing in a northern direction. Noibat, this time, gave an actual answer. "Great, we're going that way. We can take you home, if you start to remember where home is, okay?"

Noibat made some chittering sounds, which Charlotte assumed was how it normally talked. She found the little thing, and the noises it made, unmistakably adorable. If she wasn't hellbent on trying to take it home, she might've tried to catch it.

 _Should I catch it…?_ She wondered. She already had six Pokémon, catching a seventh would mean that she couldn't use it in battle, and she wasn't sure if she could use it at all. The only other time any of her friends had caught a seventh Pokémon was Niko, back in Unova, and he managed to rotate his Pokémon successfully. Charlotte couldn't do that. They weren't near a Pokémon Center, and she wasn't entirely sure if she could send Noibat—or really any of her Pokémon outside of Smeargle—to her mother in Castelia City. She spent the rest of the day pondering this while the trio hurriedly traversed the plains in search of some sort of cave or mountain that Noibat could have come from.

Meanwhile, the Sound Wave Pokémon was taking a liking to Gogoat, who was carrying the group's bags, and Smeargle, who had originally saved it. Niko and Warren watched it carelessly fly around in the air, usually gliding along the soft breeze above them.

"Noibat seems carefree to me," Niko mentioned as they watched it glide a couple dozen feet above them. "I wonder what that's like."

"Being carefree, or flying?" Warren asked.

"Well, both I guess."

"Heh, you think too much, Niko," Warren replied.

"Easy for you to say. You don't have a big tournament coming up."

"You're right, I don't…" Warren said, looking down and away. He sighed. "Sorry, I should've realized—"

"Warren, you're thinking too much," Niko said with a wry smile.

* * *

After an unsuccessful day of searching for Noibat's home, Charlotte and her friends sat down to eat dinner. They were still in the plains, but they could see mountains in the distance. _That's probably where Noibat's from_ , she thought to herself. Meanwhile, Niko discovered that Noibat loves Figy Berries, which he found growing along a river during their travels that day.

"Didn't think he'd like them," Niko said, "Warren, these are spicy, aren't they?"

Warren nodded. "Usually fire types would like them, but dragons aren't too far off, so maybe that explains why Noibat will eat them," he explained.

Charlotte pat the Noibat's ears. They were soft and lightly furry. Looking back at Niko and Warren, she stood up and approached them.

"Can I talk to you two for a minute?" she asked.

"Sure Charlotte," Niko answered, "what's up?"

"It's about Noibat…" she said, sitting down next to Niko, "Thing is…I kinda want to catch it."

"Then go for it!" Niko said excitedly.

"No…that's not it," she said, her expression turning slightly dour. "I already have six Pokémon. I can't use a seventh, right?

"Well," Niko said, "speaking from experience, I don't think you can use it in a battle, but I'm sure you could send it out to eat and stuff. Is that what you're worried about? It being underfed while it sits in a pokéball?"

Charlotte nodded. "And we're out in the middle of nowhere right now, so it isn't like I could contact my Mom, or Professor Sycamore, or anyone who could take care of it."

Niko placed an arm around her. "I get that you're worried. How about this—tomorrow we'll see if Noibat's home is over in those mountains. If it isn't, why don't you ask it to join you, and we'll just play it by ear from there?" Niko suggested. "If you can't battle with it, that's fine! Noibat might not be strong enough to compete in the Kalos League yet, anyways."

Charlotte looked up at Niko and her expression changed again to a slight smile. "Alright, thanks, Niko."

"No problem."

* * *

The trio made it within walking distance of the mountain range by late afternoon the following day. During most of the day, Noibat was either chittering away with Smeargle, or gliding in the air. The entire time, Charlotte was debating whether or not to capture the Sound Wave Pokémon. By the time they reached the mountains, they spotted a cave high up on the side of one of them.

"Noibat," Charlotte said, pointing to the cave, "is _that_ you home?"

Noibat flew up towards it to check. For a moment, Charlotte figured that was it—Noibat was home, and wouldn't be travelling with her anymore. That made her decision easy—she didn't have to worry about capturing it, or the mechanics of having a seventh Pokémon.

But minutes later, Noibat descended back down to them, and shook its head. That wasn't home.

Niko and Warren turned to Charlotte to see what she would do. Taking a deep breath, she looked down at Smeargle, and then at Gogoat, and finally to Noibat.

"Noibat, if that isn't your home, would you like to come with us?"

The Sound Wave Pokémon took a moment to process what was being asked of it. Charlotte waited patiently, albeit nervously.

Then Noibat made a cheerful chittering sound, indicating its answer. Charlotte assumed it was a "yes," and pulled out a pokéball.

"Here, this is yours, then," she said, holding out an empty pokéball in her hand. "You'll go into this, and that means I've captured you. I can then use you in battles, and you can come with me wherever I go. Again, only if you want to."

Noibat descended towards Charlotte, kicking the button in the center of the ball, and going inside with a flash of red light. The pokéball wiggled around in Charlotte's hand before eventually clicking, indicating a successful capture.

Charlotte's smile was broken by the pokéball darkening. Now was the moment of truth—could she even _use_ Noibat?

"Noibat, I choose—" Charlotte stopped—she couldn't. Noibat wasn't coming out. "What…"

"Switch it with something else," Niko said, "you can just do a rotation with the Pokémon currently in your possession. I don't think you need someone to hold onto it _for_ you to rotate."

Charlotte nodded, taking Frillish's pokéball and, somehow, switching the two. Frillish's pokéball darkened, and Noibat's lightened to its normal color. "What the—how'd I do that?"

"No idea. This technology seems like magic sometimes," Niko said, patting her shoulder. "Let's go now. We've got a few days left before we need to be in Lumiose City."

Charlotte nodded. "Right. Let's go!"

The trio then set off towards Lumiose City, and the Kalos League, leaving the mountains behind them. Little did they know, that when they were setting off, the sun setting in front of them, a pair of Pokémon sat in the cave above, watching the three humans and the Noibat fluttering with them.


	43. A gathering of friends and rivals alike!

**Episode 43: A gathering of friends and rivals alike!**

"We're here," Niko said as they walked into Lumiose City. "The Kalos League will be here."

"Mhmm," Charlotte replied, pointing to the stadium off in the distance. "Has that always been there?"

"Think so," Warren added, "we just never noticed it. We also haven't been in this part of the city, either."

After travelling for several months through Kalos, Niko and Charlotte were finally at the culmination of their journey—a tournament to challenge their mettle as Pokémon trainers and battlers. With eight badges to qualify them, and a full team of Pokémon to help them through their journey, both Niko and Charlotte felt a mixture of emotions running through them. Joy, confusion, anxiety, confidence. Yet, they were both sure that they were ready for this.

The first thing the trio did was head over to the Kalos League stadium to register. As they approached the stadium, they noticed dozens upon dozens of trainers and their Pokémon, running around the grounds of the building. Unlike previous Pokémon League stadiums, the Lumiose stadium was a single building, with two sets of buildings off to the side, presumably for housing. Walking past them, Niko didn't recognize a single trainer, until…

"Niko!" Ian shouted. The tall, blonde trainer ran up to Niko and gave him a joyous slap on the back. "You made it!"

"Hey, Ian!" Niko said with a smirk. "I take it you got all of your badges?"

"Yeah, dude! I'm definitely ready for this! Hope you are too!"

"Of course. Otherwise, why would I be here?" Niko said.

"Exactly! Charlotte, you ready too? Did you qualify?" Ian asked cordially.

"Yes, I did, thanks. Good luck to you, too!" Charlotte said, quickly shaking Ian's hand.

"Anyways, I gotta go meet the family. Catcha later!"

Niko, Charlotte, and Warren waved to Ian as he ran off. Shrugging it off, Charlotte turned and walked away, with Niko and Warren following closely behind. "Do you not like Ian?" Niko asked.

"No. He's just…eccentric. That's all," Charlotte said with a genuine smile. The three of them made it to a long registration desk with several different people running the tables. Niko and Charlotte then split up and each went to a registration official.

"Hi, I'd like to register for the Kalos League," Niko said politely.

"Badges and pokédex?" he asked in a rather plain tone. Niko handed him his badge case and the pokédex given to him by Professor Sycamore. "Bug, Cliff, Rumble, Plant, Voltage, Fairy, Psychic, and Iceberg badges. Well done, sir," he then gave Niko a pamphlet and a set of keys. "Here are some materials for you—a key to your lodging, and a pamphlet detailing the rules of the tournament and other useful things for your stay in Lumiose City."

"Thank you," Niko said as he turned to walk away.

"Good luck!" the registration official stated. Niko met back up with Warren, and later Charlotte, as the two walked around the area for a bit before heading to their rooms.

"So, when's Sydney showing up?" Niko asked.

"She said she'd be here the day before the tournament begins," Warren said as he set down his bags. "I think she was travelling with Charlotte's mom, right?" he asked, turning to their female companion.

"Yeah, she mentioned that," Charlotte said. "So…what do you want to do first?"

Niko shrugged. "I guess we could just go and do some last-minute training, right? The tournament starts in two days, right?"

"Day after tomorrow, so yeah," Warren replied. "Niko, are you bringing some of your old Pokémon here, too?"

"Yep. My mom should be showing up today or tomorrow with them."

Niko and Charlotte found a park near the stadium to practice with their Pokémon. During this, Noibat sat on the sidelines and watched Charlotte's other Pokémon work on honing their moves. Since being caught, Noibat has enjoyed getting along with most of Charlotte's Pokémon. The only one she felt less than friendly with was Pupitar, but for no reason in particular. Noibat also got a kick out of watching Niko's Pokémon train, and particularly liked how Talonflame flew so gracefully through the air, and how Clawitzer used dragon pulse so effectively.

After an hour or so, Niko and Charlotte called it a day and walked back towards the stadium, where they saw a green-haired boy in a hurry to get to the lobby, his Gallade hurrying behind him. Having difficulty controlling a smile, Niko dashed off to meet Wally head-on, nearly colliding with the Hoenn native.

"NIKO!" Wally shouted, embracing his friend and rival. "You made it, too!"

"I did Wally. I wouldn't pass up the chance to possibly battle you. Hey, Gallade!"

"Gall," Gallade said with a nod.

"Just like in Hoenn, too! Only this time I'll win!"

"Heh, we'll see about that," Niko said.

"Oh no I mean it, Niko!" Wally said, feeling energized. "I've improved a lot in the three years since we last battled at Ever Grande. I think I've finally figured out how to beat you!"

"Well, you haven't fought all of my Pokémon," Niko said with a wink, "I've got reserves that I plan to use."

"I'll beat 'em all," Wally said with a now-serious determination. "I've wanted to defeat you since Ever Grande. You're my inspiration, Niko. I want to prove to you I'm worthy of our rivalry."

Niko placed a hand on Wally's shoulder. "You will always be worthy, Wally. We both will be. But if we do battle, then prove to me that you've gotten better. I really cannot wait for it."

Wally nodded. "Well, I have to go register. Catch ya later, Niko!" he said, running off with his very first Pokémon towards the registration desks in the front lobby.

"You and Wally really are close, aren't you?" Charlotte asked, lightly grabbing Niko's wrist.

"We are. He's such a good kid," Niko said with a bright smile.

* * *

The following day, Niko and Charlotte spent most of the morning practicing with their Pokémon, occasionally involving Warren and his Pokémon as well. By lunch, Sydney and Charlotte's mother, Emily, had arrived from the airport, and met up with the trio at a nearby restaurant.

"Niko! Charlotte! Ahhh!" Sydney said as she gathered the two of them up in a tight hug, her shiny black hair falling in between them. She wore a simple set of clothes—jeans and a t-shirt with a purple cardigan over it. Afterwards, Emily brought both of them in for a hug as well.

"Hey Sydney, Emily," Niko said as his friend let go. "How're you?"

"I'm excited! Warren's been telling me so much about your adventures!" Sydney said.

"Are you two ready for this?" Emily asked.

"Of course," Niko said. Charlotte nodded as well.

"Think you can make it to the finals again, Niko?" Sydney asked.

"Well, that's the hope. Whether or not I do is up to my Pokémon, and our opponents, too."

"True. Anyway, I'm really psyched for this. I loved getting to see the Vertress Conference in person!"

"What kind of Pokémon have you caught, Charlotte?" Emily asked. Eagerly, Charlotte sent out each of her Pokémon. "Ah, so you're what Deerling evolved into," she said, eying Sawsbuck, who nuzzled her cheek affectionately. Emily looked at Delphox who, recognizing the importance of this woman, bowed to the former before shaking Emily's hand. "Oh! Well, hello there…err…"

"Delphox," Charlotte said, happy that one of her most loyal Pokémon got to meet her mother.

"Delphox. Hi, I'm Emily. It's great to finally meet you in person," Emily said, referencing the several times Charlotte showed her Delphox when she was a Fennekin and Braixen over a video call.

"I have a seventh, actually. Her name is Noibat, but she's resting in our suite right now. Mom, she's super cute!"

"Can't wait to meet her," Emily said with a smile.

The five of them ate lunch, with the trio regaling Sydney and Emily in some of their adventures, most recently their visit to Wulfric's Pokémon Village and their encounter with a Team Flare member. Sydney in particular enjoyed hearing about the Pokéball Factory, which Warren only gave quick details about before they left Laverre City.

Afterwards, the trio, Sydney, and Emily walked back towards the stadium, where Niko was supposed to meet up with his mom. He did, at the front of the stadium. Only, his mother wasn't alone.

"Jake? JJ? Brittany? Fay…?" Niko asked, raising an eyebrow. His mother—Daisy—was the first to approach him.

"Hi Niko," she said softly. She was still just a few inches shorter than Niko, but sometimes he felt shorter. "How're you, my boy?"

"Doing great, actually."

Daisy exchanged greetings with Emily, Sydney, Warren, and finally Charlotte. While she did so, Niko turned to his former companions and his brother. Without saying a word, Brittany ran up to hug him.

"Hey buddy," Niko said, holding Brittany. "How's my Top Coordinator doing?"

"Better than ever. I won the Grand Festival in Unova, too," she said.

"That's great! So that's what? Two of them now?" Niko said.

"Yeah, and I placed in the top four in the Johto Grand Festival just a couple months ago. I'm headed to Kanto next."

"I'm so proud of you," Niko said. "I mean that."

"And I am of you. So, you qualified for the Kalos League?"

"Yep, got all eight badges. I'm ready, Brittany."

"I know you are," Brittany said as Niko then turned to JJ.

"How's the legendary Pokémon breeder doing?" Niko said, shaking JJ's hand and bringing him in for a hug as well.

"Great! The business is doing really well! Maisie and I set up shop on an island not terribly far from Kanto, you should come check it out!"

"Absolutely," Niko said before finally turning to Fay. The two simply clasped hands. "How've you been?"

"Alright. Busy, but alright. Heard what you've been up to from JJ and Brittany, and I saw your battles at the Vertress Conference. I'm very proud of you, Niko. You've come a long way."

Niko couldn't help but smile. His rival—his first, and one of his closest; the reason why he continued training, and battling, and struggling to make his way to the top. Fay was one of the reasons he did what he did. And Niko was determined, now more than ever, to prove how far he had come to Fay. He didn't get a chance to at the Vertress Conference, at least in person. But now he had that opportunity. And he was going to take it.

Niko then turned to his brother, Jake. "Bro."

"Bro," Jake said, tightly hugging his brother. "I just finished up the Vertress Conference. Placed top four!"

"Almost tied with me—top two, boy," Niko said, holding his hands on Jake's shoulders. His younger brother was definitely the taller one now.

"Well, you might beat that this time," Jake said. "You can win this one, Niko."

"That's the hope," Niko replied, just as Jake pulled out a box from his bag. Niko immediately recognized them as his pokéballs. "Oh, yes! Thank you."

"We figured you might want to see your old friends again," Daisy said. Niko nodded, and eagerly took the box before running off towards the park that he, Warren, and Charlotte practiced in earlier that day. When they got there, he threw all of the pokéballs out, containing all 29 of his Pokémon:

Venusaur, Pidgeot, Kadabra, Magneton, Hitmonchan, Shellder, Feraligatr, Noctowl, Yanmega, Delibird, Sceptile, Swellow, Aggron, Manectric, Numel, Glalie, Torterra, Luxray, Prinplup, Staraptor, Rampardos, Magmortar, Serperior, Braviary, Boldore, Reuniclus, Eelektross, Lampent, and Druddigon.

Immediately, all of them wanted to tackle Niko to the ground, but waited for him to greet all of them in turn before addressing them as a group. He looked at Venusaur in particular, who seemed to shy away more than he usually did. Niko felt Druddigon's hard skin scratch against his, and nearly got tackled to the ground by Aggron, Glalie, and Delibird. He high-fived Feraligatr and Sceptile, and nuzzled Serperior. He felt at home again.

"Well, I've made it to the Kalos League! Got all eight badges, and with my new team of Pokémon, all of us are going to win it this time!" The Pokémon cheered, and Niko brought out five new pokéballs. "Meet some of the Pokémon I got a chance to catch while here. Everyone, come on out!"

Niko then sent out Chesnaught, Talonflame, Slurpuff, Clawitzer, and Pangoro to meet the others. Initially, they all seemed somewhat reserved, with only Slurpuff and Pangoro going up to meet some of them. Niko let the Pokémon all mingle for a bit while he caught up with Jake, Brittany, and JJ. Jake also got a chance to meet Charlotte and catch up with Warren and Sydney. Daisy and Emily made casual conversation as well, presumably about their children.

After a while, Niko turned back to his Pokémon and wanted to see if they had learned any new moves while he was away. Pidgeot now knew roost and mirror move; kadabra learned future sight; shellder learned ice beam; luxray learned electric terrain; Reuniclus learned psychic; and Druddigon learned superpower. Niko also recognized that Torterra was trying to learn leaf storm, but was having a little difficulty with it. While he worked on it with the Continent Pokémon—with the help of Sceptile—his Kalos Pokémon began mingling more with the others. Chesnaught soon found a friend in Rampardos, and Pangoro and Hitmonchan exchanged fighting techniques.

"They all get along so well," Warren noticed as he was introducing Sydney to Litleo.

"They all recognize that they've been in the same situations—travelling with Niko, battling gyms, taking on Pokémon Leagues," JJ replied. "I'd be surprised if they didn't get along well, actually."

After a while of hanging out and playing around, Niko finally turned his attention to Venusaur. Looking to Daisy, he got the scarf with the Venusaurite on it. This time, when Niko was exposed to it, he felt a certain warmth about it. He felt happy; confident.

"Venusaur," Niko said, approaching the Seed Pokémon, who seemed to shy away from him. "You didn't want to take my gift, I see," he sighed. "That's fine, then. If you don't want to mega evolve, we don't have to. But I still think that we should at least give it a shot, you know?" Venusaur looked at him with a concerned look before looking away again, essentially ignoring Niko.

Niko stood back up and put the scarf in the box with his Pokémon's pokéballs before turning and returning all of them. It had been nearly an hour or so, and it was time for everyone to get some rest. Battles began the following day—they'd need their rest.

* * *

As Niko and Charlotte made their way towards the stadium with their friends and family, Niko caught sight of a third familiar face—that of Oliver's.

"You guys go on ahead, I'll catch up," Niko said, urging Charlotte and the rest of them to go. They did, leaving Niko to approach Oliver. "Hey, Oliver!"

"Oh, Niko. You made it too," Oliver said, shaking his rival's hand. "How was the battle with Wulfric?"

"Not too bad. I won, as you can imagine. Didn't expect the Mega Abomasnow, though."

"Yeah, that tripped me up as well. How're you feeling?"

"I'm feeling fine, oddly enough. I was pretty nervous before coming here, but I met up with my old Pokémon, my family, and some old friends of mine. I feel much better."

"Older Pokémon?" Oliver asked. When Niko explained that he'd participated in other Pokémon Leagues, Oliver nodded. "Right, I remember you telling me, this, I think. That'll make this far more interesting to watch, I think," he looked off towards the stadium entrance. "How's Charlotte doing?"

"Charlotte? Oh, she's doing just fine, actually," Niko said. "Or at least I think she is. She does seem nervous."

"I'd imagine so. First Pokémon League. It gets a lot of people."

"This is your first, right…?" Niko asked. Oliver nodded. "Are you nervous?"

"Actually, I'm not. I feel just fine. But I recognize that not everyone is going to feel like me."

Niko nodded. "Anyway, I need to catch up with my friends. I'll catch ya later, Oliver."

"See ya Niko," Oliver said before heading in the opposite direction. Two rivals, each with the same goal. Niko wondered if he would have to face Oliver eventually. He had a history of battling each of his rivals. Would Oliver be any different?

* * *

 **Author's Note: We've finally made it to the Lumiose Conference! There's a lot I wanted to shove into this episode, hopefully it all came off as coherent! The next episode: we start the actual battles of the tournament! Get hyped!**


	44. The first two rounds

**Episode 44: The first two rounds**

"Welcome, one and all, to the Lumiose Conference!" A familiar voice echoed through the microphone. Niko smiled as he saw the President of the Pokémon League's face appear on a massive monitor hanging on the side of the main stadium. Goodshow was standing in the center of the sole battlefield in the stadium which was, unusually, hanging above what looked like a rather deep hole. He was standing with a few other officials. One of whom Niko recognized from somewhere. "As usual, I'm President of the Pokémon League, Colton Goodshow, and I'll be your host for this year's Pokémon League, here in the Unova region!

"As usual, there will be 128 trainers, from Kalos and around the world, registered in this single-elimination, tournament-style competition. Tomorrow, the first round will consist of preliminary, one-on-one pokémon matches. Once the Top 64 trainers have been decided, we will conduct the second round of battling on the following day. There, trainers will compete in two-on-two battles against one another to decide the Top 32. On the third day, the third round will begin, with each of the Top 32 trainers dueling it out in three-on-three match-ups to decide the Top 16. All matches will be conducted on this battlefield, and each battle after the third round will be themed.

"On the fourth and fifth days, we will conduct the full 6-on-6 pokémon battles until one trainer is left standing. At any point in any match—with the exception of the first round—trainers may substitute their pokémon like they are permitted to in gym battles.

"And now, we will light the torch to commence the annual Lumiose City Pokémon Conference!" Goodshow announced, and immediately Niko saw a man running up to the massive golden cup to light it, indicating the start of the tournament. Now, for a word from the Champion of the Kalos League. Hailing from Lumiose City, please welcome…Champion Bonnie!"

Niko, Charlotte, and Warren all dropped their jaws at the sight of Clemont's sister taking the stage next to President Goodshow. She picked up the microphone and, in a cheerful voice, began to speak.

"Welcome everyone! I'm beyond excited to see so many wonderful faces out there, and so many capable trainers getting ready to take on one another with the strong bonds that bind them and their Pokémon together. So please, let us all have an outstanding time, and I hope to get the chance to battle some of you, some day.

"And now, on the monitor you will see the pairings of trainers for the first round!" Bonnie said, throwing her hand up to the massive monitor. There, Niko and Charlotte saw 128 profiles appear on the screen. They all flipped around before eventually coming together in 64 pairs. Niko and Charlotte didn't seem to recognize either of their opponents. That was fine—it may have been better that way.

That evening, Niko lay down in his bed, thinking about the league. He knew exactly who he wanted to start off with in the first round. But that wasn't the issue. He thought more about how Venusaur acted towards him that day. If he was being honest, Niko was hurt by his Pokémon's actions. More than that, he just didn't understand. Or maybe he wasn't even trying to. Niko went to bed believing that he needed to be more empathetic.

* * *

"Welcome to the first round of the Lumiose City Conference!" President Goodshow announced. "Today we will have 64 one-on-one battles between trainers from all over the world! In our first match…"

Niko, his friends, and his family all sat in the stands and watched match after match, only noticing a few that were outstanding. Niko was first between the two, but before he went he got a chance to catch Wally's battle. The Hoenn native used his Florges to quickly trounce a Toxicroak, cementing his spot in the second round.

Saying goodbye to his group, Niko left the stands and walked down, past the lobby, and towards the tunnel leading to the battlefield. Taking a deep breath, and watching a horror-stricken trainer, he approached the battlefield.

"And now for our 18th match of the day! Niko from Pallet Town versus Tom from Cyllage City!" President Goodshow announced. The referee explained the rules of the match to each trainer and, as soon as they were ready, both trainers summoned their Pokémon.

"Pangoro, I choose you!" Niko shouted. He wanted to give the Daunting Pokémon a chance to prove himself in battle. This was the perfect time to do so.

"Diggersby, let's go!" Tom shouted, summoning a large, portly rabbit-like Pokémon with massive ears, each crowned with a massive, muscular forearm, complete with three-fingered paws. The ears were furry and mostly grey in color, whereas the paws at the ends of the ears were brown. Three spots of brown fur surround each of the ear-wrists. The other four limbs were small in comparison to the ears. The fur of the upper paws were white, while the feet were brown. A sash-like band composed of thicker, wooly fur surrounded its waist. This sash was sectioned brown on its sides and yellow at its front and back. Diggersby's face was dominated by a large brown muzzle, resembling stubble. Two large front teeth protruded from its wide mouth and three whiskers decorate each cheek.

"Diggersby, the Digging Pokémon. Normal and ground type. With their powerful ears, they can heft boulders of a ton or more with ease. They can be a big help at construction sites," Charlotte's pokédex read.

"Bulldoze!" Tom commanded.

"Pangoro, wait for it!" Niko shouted, knowing fully well how the attack worked. "Wait…now! Jump!" Pangoro leapt into the air as the vibrations underground rose under him. The Daunting Pokémon crashed back onto the battlefield and charged towards Diggersby. "Use hammer arm!"

"Respond with hammer arm, too!" Tom directed. Diggersby's ear-arm started to glow, and it slammed into Pangoro's arm. The two held their ground for some time before both repelled backwards. "Bounce!"

Diggersby, with an amazing amount of strength, launched itself into the air using its small feet. Niko and Pangoro looked up at the same time, surprised by the height Diggersby had gained. As it was falling, Niko commanded Pangoro to wait once more before commanding him to use sky uppercut. Pangoro nodded, slamming his fist into Diggersby's stomach, halting the attack of the Digging Pokémon, and throwing it into the ground.

"Use hammer arm!"

"Block it with hammer arm, too!" Tom commanded. While doing so, Tom also directed his Pokémon to use earthquake, shaking the entire, nearly floating battlefield. Pangoro slipped and, unprotected, took a hammer arm to the face, knocking him to the ground.

This can't be it. No…Niko thought to himself. I can't lose in the first round! "Pangoro! Remember why you're here! Remember why you chose to join me! Remember all of the Pokémon in the village!"

Back in Pokémon Village, Wulfric was watching the battle with Aurorus, his other Pokémon, and the village Pokémon as well. All of them were cheering wildly for their friend and protector.

Pangoro slowly got back up, seeing Diggersby curling the fingers on his ears in a "come at me" sort of fashion. The Daunting Pokémon re-adjusted the leaf in his mouth and, briefly turning back towards Niko, got back up and charged at Diggersby.

"That's right!" Niko shouted, thrusting a fist into the air. "Pangoro! Use hammer arm!" Pangoro leapt into the air, only to be met by Diggersby using bounce. Quickly, Pangoro slammed his arm on top of the Digging Pokémon's head, rocketing it into the ground. "Now, sky uppercut!"

When Pangoro landed, he lowered his body to the ground and, in a swift and decisive motion, propelled his fist upwards under Diggersby, connecting his knuckles with the Digging Pokémon's chin. Diggersby was launched into the air. When it crashed back onto the battlefield, it was unable to get back up.

"Diggersby is unable to battle, Pangoro is the winner! The victory goes to Niko from Pallet Town!"

In the Pokémon Village, Wulfric and the Pokémon all cheered wildly for Pangoro. "I knew he could do it…" the gym leader said softly. "Aurorus, you might be needed soon," the Tundra Pokémon nodded, watching her new teammate greet their mutual trainer.

"I'm so proud of you, Pangoro!" Niko said, hugging his panda-like Pokémon. "You've finally got an official win under your belt! I knew it was a good choice to start this off with you."

"Goro…" Pangoro nodded in agreement.

Congratulated by his friends and family, Niko sat back down and watched a couple dozen more matches before it was Charlotte's turn. During this time, he watched Ian and his Bastiodon take down a Whimsicott, which Niko learned was a grass and fairy type. He also watched Oliver and his Greninja take down a Porygon-Z rather easily.

Before either of them realized it, it was Charlotte's turn to go. Feeling confident, she left the stands and, within minutes, was on her end of the field.

Here we go, she thought to herself. I—we—can do this. I know we can. She looked up and around her. There sure were a lot of people in the audience and probably watching on television. Breathe, Charlotte, breathe.

"And now we have Charlotte from Castelia City versus Alexander from Anistar City!" Colton Goodshow declared. Once more, the referee briefly explained the rules, clearly tired from having done so on so many occasions that day, which Charlotte found amusing.

"Gogoat, I choose you!" she shouted.

"Carbink, you're up!" Alexander said, summoning an odd-looking, and rather small, Pokémon. It was a gray Pokémon that resembled a rock covered in light-blue crystals such as an ore. A white, fluffy collar separated its limbless body and head. Carbink had blue eyes, a light-blue crystal on top of its head and big, flat rhomboid ears.

"Carbink, the Jewel Pokémon. Rock and fairy type. It has slept underground for hundreds of millions of years since its birth. It's occasionally found during the excavation of caves," Niko's pokédex stated.

"Probably a pretty rare Pokémon, I'd say," Jake said, reading the entry as well.

"Gogoat, use razor leaf!" Charlotte commanded.

"Block it with light screen!" Alexander directed. The Jewel Pokémon conjured a transparent wall around itself to block on the oncoming torrent of sharp leaves. "Now, power gem!"

"Seed bomb!" Charlotte commanded and, as she expected, the attacks exploded in the middle of the battlefield. "Let's get closer! Use leaf blade!"

"Is that all it knows?" Alexander said, almost mockingly. "Carbink, use moonblast!"

Charlotte heard this and felt slightly offended by it. She tried to put aside her anger, as she had the advantage over her rather presumptuous opponent. Gogoat took the moonblast and was knocked backwards, through the air, and onto his feet near Charlotte. "You got this, Gogoat. Remember why you're here."

Gogoat turned to Charlotte, and nodded. He then charged again at Carbink and Alexander.

"Pfft, again? Carbink, power gem!" Alexander commanded haughtily. He was shocked to see Gogoat breaking the pink gems emitted by his Pokémon with leaf blade. "What!? Y-you can't!"

"Oh? No way of defending that, hmm?" Charlotte fired back in a mock-arrogant tone. "Gogoat, use leaf blade!"

"Carbink, moonblast!" Alexander shouted, but it was too late—Gogoat was already upon his opponent, using seed bomb to shatter the light screen and then leaf blade with vines protruding from behind his bushy green mane. They each slashed at Carbink and, decisively, defeated it.

"Carbink is unable to battle, Gogoat is the winner!" the referee declared. "The winner of the match is Charlotte from Castelia City!"

Charlotte took two joys in that moment: one in hugging her victorious Gogoat, and the other in watching Alexander lose his mind over his defeat. She wasn't one to brag, and thus didn't say anything to him before returning Gogoat and exiting the battlefield.

The rest of the day was either spent watching battles or hanging out in the dining hall. Before going to grab dinner, Niko and Charlotte saw their next opponents—this time for the double battle round. Neither of them seemed to recognize their opponents.

That evening, Niko and Charlotte largely sat alone, on their individual beds, quietly thinking about the following day. It was a double battle round, which meant that two of their Pokémon would have to essentially work together to win. For Charlotte, the options she could choose from were far more limited—to only six Pokémon, since she wasn't going to throw Noibat into a Pokémon League so quickly after being caught.

Niko, on the other hand, had a far more difficult time. He had 29 Pokémon that he could choose from. He knew that he wasn't going to use Pangoro again—the Daunting Pokémon did need some rest—and he didn't want to use any of his "ace" Pokémon quite yet—Venusaur, Feraligatr, Sceptile, Serperior, etc. Still, limiting the options in that way didn't make it any easier. He figured he should keep up with using some of his Kalos Pokémon, but the second choice would come from his reserves. That begged the question—which pair of Pokémon did he think would work well together?

* * *

"Welcome to the second round of the Lumiose Conference!" Colton Goodshow announced. "Today, we'll be watching each participant take on their peers in a double battle! Once both trainer's Pokémon are defeated, they are officially out of the tournament! Let's begin!" his voice boomed through the microphone.

Niko was the third match of 32 that day, and didn't recognize any of the trainers going before him. So, when he got to his side of the field, he didn't necessarily recognize his opponent—a pink-haired young woman with bangs and thick-rimmed glasses named Elena. The referee, as usual, explained the rules of the match, and both trainers were up.

"Talonflame, Reuniclus, I choose you!" Niko shouted, summoning the Scorching and Multiplying Pokémon at the same time.

"Furfrou! Aromatisse! You're both up!" Elena commanded, summoning two Pokémon familiar enough to Niko. "Furfrou, use take down! Aromatisse, use calm mind!"

"Talonflame, let's start off with a flame charge on Aromatisse! Reuniclus, use future sight!" Niko directed. Talonflame's body lit up on fire as she charged at the Fragrance Pokémon, who took the hit before conjuring a moonblast and striking Talonflame on the top of her back, forcing her into the ground. "Talonflame! Steel wing!"

"Aromatisse, psychic!" Elena shouted. Meanwhile, Furfrou attempted to use take down on Reuniclus, who dodged and, on Niko's command, challenged Aromatisse's psychic power with her own, both of them holding Talonflame in a limbo of sorts. Furfrou eventually broke it with a sucker punch to Reuniclus' side, knocking the Multiplying Pokémon out of the air and onto the ground. Talonflame then was thrown about before being launched at Reuniclus, knocking the two Pokémon into a pile.

"You two can do this!" Niko said. "Remember—use each other. We have to work as a team here."

Talonflame and Reuniclus looked at each other and, despite only briefly having met, nodded and ascended into the air. Niko commanded them to use flame charge and rollout on Furfrou and Aromatisse, respectively. Meanwhile, he waited for the future sight to strike, knowing that it would be soon enough.

Talonflame and Furfrou collided, crashing together into the ground before the former was hit by the latter's wild charge, forcing the Scorching Pokémon to roll across the ground and come to a stop, clearly damaged by a full-blown electric tackle. Reuniclus was successful in hitting Aromatisse, having faked it out and crashed into its side, knocking it onto the ground. The Fragrance Pokémon attempted to use moonblast, but Reuniclus successfully grabbed the orb of energy with psychic—much to Niko's surprise—and threw it back at Aromatisse, knocking it down.

"Now's your chance, Talonflame!" Niko commanded, thrusting his hand out. "Use steel wing!"

Talonflame, nodding, got up and charged at her fairy type opponent, wings glowing a bright gray color. Niko noticed Furfrou attempting to attack with wild charge and intercept his Pokémon, so he commanded Reuniclus to use psychic to stop the Poodle Pokémon. Reuniclus succeeded, launching Furfrou out of the way while Talonflame crashed into Aromatisse.

"Now Reuniclus!" Niko shouted, "Use psychic and throw both of them into the air!"

Just as wormholes appeared above them, Reuniclus tossed her opponents upwards, and they were hit by the electrified psychic objects. Upon landing, both Furfrou and Aromatisse simply lay there, side-by-side, in defeat.

"Furfrou and Aromatisse are unable to battle!" The referee declared. "And the winner is Niko from Pallet Town!"

"Yes!" Niko said, pumping a fist. He hugged Reuniclus and Talonflame before returning them to their pokéballs. He was now in the Top 32.

"Interesting," Fay said with a smirk.

In the stands, the group continued to watch more of the matches, managing to catch Oliver's and Ian's battles before it was Charlotte's turn. Oliver's Greninja and Aegislash—Niko assumed it was his Honedge's final form—soundly defeated his opponent's Jynx and Carracosta. Ian also didn't seem to have too much difficulty, trouncing his opponent's Crawdaunt and Swalot with Garchomp and Ampharos, which Niko had no idea he owned.

It was then Charlotte's turn. Appearing on the field, she looked out on her opponent—a brunette-haired woman with blonde highlights in it. The referee explained the rules once again—and exhaustively, much to Charlotte's amusement—before both trainers summoned their Pokémon.

"Smeargle, Frillish, you're up!" Charlotte commanded, summoning her two choices.

"Pyroar, Trevenant, I choose you!" her opponent—Rochelle—said. Out of her two pokéballs appeared a lioness-like Pokémon with a long, gold and red mane extending from its forehead to the whole length of its body. Pyroar's irises are tinted azure with black pupils.

The other Pokémon was certainly odd-looking. It was a slender brown tree that stood on six roots bent like spider legs. Its inner body was made up of black shadow, which was mostly covered by tree bark. There were two large, crooked horn-like gnarls on either side of its head, and another smaller gnarl on its forehead, with a tuft of green leaves in the middle and a large, menacing dark-red eye below them. Its two arms were held horizontally level, thin upper arms and thick forearms, like the body, was made up of black shadow covered with tree bark. Each upper arm had a single small spike or leaf. The forearms had a small branch immediately before a large cuff of green foliage at the wrist, connected to hands with three wooden pincer spikes for fingers.

"Pyroar, the Royal Pokémon. Fire and normal type. With fiery breath of more than 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit, they viciously threaten any challenger. The females protect the pride's cubs," Niko's pokédex read.

"Trevenant, the Elder Tree Pokémon. Ghost and grass type. Using its roots as a nervous system, it controls the trees in the forest. It's kind to the Pokémon that reside in its body."

"Guess she has her hands full," Niko commented as Noibat, who was sitting in his lap, chittered happily upon seeing her new trainer. "Yeah, let's cheer on Charlotte, alright?"

"Smeargle, use hex on Trevenant!" Charlotte shouted. "Frillish, use water pulse on Pyroar!" She thought that starting off with the more obvious moves first made the most sense. And, fortunately, both of them managed to hit, since Rochelle was too slow to respond. However, Trevenant did charge forward and, with surprising speed, managed to crash into Smeargle with wood hammer, launching the Painter Pokémon nearly off of the battlefield. Pyroar, on the other hand, attempted to use crunch on Frillish, but instead took another water pulse to the face and crashed into the ground. So much for teamwork, I suppose. "Frillish, Smeargle, both use hex!"

"Pyroar, use overheat! Trevenant, use shadow claw to break the hexes!" Rochelle shouted. Trevenant conjured shadowy claws that swiped at the hexes, bursting them in midair while Pyroar overwhelmed all of them with a blast of heat that knocked the three of them—including its own teammate—to the ground. "Agh! Trevenant, are you alright?" she asked. Trevenant slowly got back up, but clearly seemed miffed, and threatened to use wood hammer on its teammate, who roared back in retaliation.

This shouldn't be too hard then…Charlotte thought to herself. "Frillish, use wring out on Pyroar! Smeargle, standby!" she commanded. She suddenly had an idea. Frillish, using the feud between her opponents to her advantage, floated across the field and wrapped Pyroar in her tentacles, dodging an angry wood hammer in the process. "Frillish, hex Trevenant!" While Frillish was entangling Pyroar, ready to use her move, Smeargle spun around and fired off a purple and black sphere at Trevenant, striking it in the side and knocking it to the ground. "Now, Frillish! Use wring out! Smeargle, quick attack into flash cannon!"

Frillish spun vertically, throwing Pyroar through the air, where it was intercepted by Smeargle's quick attack. As Pyroar was descending back to the ground, the Painter Pokémon summoned a concentrated beam of light at the Royal Pokémon and fired. When Pyroar hit the ground, it wasn't able to get back up.

"Pyroar is unable to battle! Smeargle and Frillish are the winners!" the referee declared.

"Trevenant! Use wood hammer!" Rochelle commanded. Smeargle intercepted with hex while Frillish dodged the attack and also fired a hex, only on the opposite side. Struck by twice the ghostly firepower, the Elder Tree Pokémon crumbled onto the ground as well, struggling to get back up.

"Trevenant is unable to battle, Smeargle and Frillish are the winners! And the victory goes to Charlotte from Castelia City!" the referee declared.

"Yes!" Charlotte shouted, running up to her pokémon and embracing them both. "You acted as a team, and that's how we won this. Thank you both."

By the time Charlotte sat down, the group was already watching Wally's match. With his Gallade and Heliolisk, he took down a Musharna and Relicanth with relative ease, albeit more difficulty than Niko's other rivals. Charlotte also noticed a rather unwelcome person on the stage—Aaron, the young boy from Vaniville town who seemed to have a crush on her. When he appeared on the stage to face off against his opponent, Charlotte briefly tried to catch Niko's reaction. He said nothing nor showed any expression, instead simply watched the match as he normally would.

By the end of the day, the trio was unusually exhausted. Niko and Charlotte had noticed their opponent for the third round—a three-on-three Pokémon battle. Once again, neither of them seemed to recognize their opponents. They largely spent the night talking amongst themselves, figuring out who each trainer was going to use during the battle. Niko planned to use mostly reserves, and Charlotte wanted to use the three Pokémon she hadn't yet put into battle. The entire time, Noibat was awake, listening and absorbing the information her trainer and her friends were throwing out there.

The following day, as Niko, Charlotte, and Warren were walking to meet up with their friends, they caught Professor Sycamore walking towards the lobby.

"Oh, hey you three! Niko, Charlotte, I've been watching the battles. You've both grown into such fine trainers!"

"Thanks, professor," Charlotte said, speaking for the both of them while Niko grabbed something from his bag.

"Professor?" Niko asked.

"What's up, Niko?" Sycamore replied, seemingly curious.

Niko held out the gray mega stone he found in Terminus Cave. "I managed to find this. Do you know which mega stone this belongs to?"

* * *

 **Author's Note: Now the first two rounds are over, and we're on to the final 32! Also-Niko will react to the identity of his new mega stone! Enjoy!**


	45. Armor of hope

**Episode 45: Armor of hope**

Professor Sycamore eyed the mega stone held out in Niko's hand for a moment, and then raised an eyebrow. "Niko…do you own an Aggron?"

Niko's eyes widened. "Yes…yes I do."

"This is an Aggronite. It will mega evolve your Aggron. Congrats!" Sycamore said with a pleasant smile.

"Oh…wow," Niko replied, thinking about what this meant. He now owned two Pokémon capable of mega evolution, both of whom he was close with. It made him feel elated and anxious at the same time. What would this mean for Aggron? Was he ready for mega evolution? Niko certainly had no idea, and didn't quite know what to do about it just yet. He did know one thing, though—he should at least tell the Iron Armor Pokémon. "Well, thanks!"

As they were about to leave, Sycamore stopped them. "Niko, wait a second."

"Yes?"

"How exactly did you find that mega stone?" Sycamore wondered.

"I found it in Terminus Cave."

"Right, but how? You don't have your Aggron on you, do you?"

"No…" Niko said, and then thought back to their theory of mega evolution—it's easier to sense them when the Pokémon is around. "I had this sense that something was there in Terminus Cave, but I didn't quite know what…"

"Niko, you may have sensed the presence of a mega stone," Sycamore theorized. "That sounds crazy, I'm sure, but I'm positive that you did. I need to think about this a little more. Best of luck to the both of you in the next round!"

With that, Professor Sycamore walked off into the building, looking thoroughly perplexed. Equally confused, Niko turned to Charlotte and Warren for answers. Both shrugged in response.

"I suppose that explains why you dragged us into that cave in the first place," Charlotte said.

"Guess so…" Niko replied, looking down at the concrete ground beneath him. This was crazy—all of it. "How did I get this kind of 'power'? Is it even a power? What the hell happened to me?"

"I don't think we need the answers right now, Niko," Warren said, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder. "You need to focus on the tournament."

"You're right," Niko said, sighing heavily. "I'll also go and tell Aggron about this later today. I wonder how he'll react to it."

The trio arrived in the dining hall to have a quick breakfast with their friends and family. The entire time, Niko was lost in his own thoughts. It was enough to fathom that he might not have to rely on Venusaur's mega evolution to get them through the Kalos League—Aggron can help them, too. But he didn't want to have to rely on mega evolution—and specifically Aggron—as some sort of crutch, and tried to push the thought out of his head.

He also didn't quite understand what Sycamore meant. How can he sense the presence of a mega stone? Couldn't Pokémon do that, and only Pokémon? Charlotte's Pupitar, when it was a Larvitar, did. Diantha's Gardevoir did. Wally's Gallade did. But none of their trainers could. How could Niko?

"Welcome to the third day of the Lumiose Conference!" President Goodshow declared. "We're about to begin our three-on-three match-ups, where the Top 32 will battle it out to determine who will proceed to the full battle rounds in the Top 16! An excellent array of battles await you all, folks! And now, for our first battle. Hailing from Petalburg City in Hoenn, please welcome Wally! And now for his opponent, from here in Lumiose City, let's give a round of applause for Franklin!"

Wally's battle against Franklin went well—for him. His Florges, Simisear, and Roserade nearly swept Franklin's Octillery, Gigalith, and Cherrim, since Wally only lost one Pokémon during the battle. It made Niko proud to see his friend doing so well, and more excited than ever at the idea of potentially battling him.

Niko and Charlotte watched the next couple of battles—catching Ian's battle with a trainer from Laverre City, whom he handily defeated. Then, a couple battles later, it was Niko's turn. Charlotte was to follow immediately afterwards.

"For our 13th match, we have Niko from Pallet Town versus Danielle from Aquacorde Town!" President Goodshow announced. "We've seen some interesting battles from both in the first two rounds, let's hope that they can bring that same fire to this one!"

"Yanmega, you're up!" Niko shouted when the referee allowed them to go. Danielle summoned a Banette. "Let's start off with ancientpower!"

Yanmega loudly hummed as he commanded large rocks from underneath the ground and fired them at the Banette, who used shadow sneak to move along the floor of the battlefield and skillfully dodge each one. Banette then leapt into the air, just under Yanmega, and fired off a shadow ball. With a loud, wailing buzz, Yanmega fell to the side, smoke emitting from the point of impact.

"Yanmega, we can win this," Niko said. "We've beaten stronger opponents together. Yanmega, use double team!" Niko shouted, quickly figuring out a strategy around this Banette. It seemed like Danielle's battling style could be trumped. He just needed everything to go as planned.

Yanmega copied himself, spreading the copies around the field. Danielle, meanwhile, commanded Banette to fire off shadow balls repeatedly, in an attempt to hit each one. However, even the Yanmega copies managed to dodge them—the Ogre Darner Pokémon was simply faster.

"Now! Bug buzz!" Niko shouted, thrusting an open hand above him before dropping it like a knife. Yanmega emitted a familiarly awful sound from his wings—each of the copies did—enveloping the field in the sound, and giving Banette nowhere to hide, despite its attempts at using shadow sneak. "Finish it off with air slash!"

Yanmega managed to corner Banette using bug buzz and, in a final attack, fired off a series of blue-tipped slashes of air at the Marionette Pokémon, launching it backwards and to the edge of the battlefield.

"Banette is unable to battle, Yanmega is the winner!" the referee declared. "Danielle will now use her second Pokémon!"

"Unbelievable!" Warren said, squinting a little. "Yanmega one-shot that Banette!"

"Yanmega is surprisingly powerful," JJ added, having had experience training against it. "Niko hates bug types, actually. But he quickly warmed up to Yanmega when he first caught it, and now they're pretty close," he looked to Fay for a seconding opinion, and got it in the form of a nod.

"That Yanmega has been through more training than most, I can imagine," Fay added. "I've seen a few on my travels, and they're not as skilled in battle as Niko's is."

Charlotte, seeing this on the screen, couldn't help but smile.

"Golduck, I choose you!" Danielle shouted, summoning a blue duck-like Pokémon. "Aqua jet!"

"Yanmega, double team again! And all use air slash!" Niko shouted. Surprisingly, the Golduck was fast—not just due to aqua jet, but in general. It managed to dodge or beat back the air slashes and collide with each copy, forcing them to disappear. "Bug buzz!" Niko shouted when he realized Golduck was upon his Pokémon. Yanmega emitted a sound but, it didn't seem clear if the Duck Pokémon even heard it, as it slammed into Yanmega and dragged both of them to the ground.

"Screech!" Danielle commanded. Golduck also emitted a loud, ear-piercing sound that Yanmega seemed particularly sensitive to. "Hydro pump!"

Yanmega was then thrust backwards, dragging across the ground, before nearly colliding with Niko. The Ogre Darner Pokémon stopped at his trainer's feet, unable to move.

"Yanmega is unable to battle, Golduck is the winner!" The referee declared. "Niko will now use his second Pokémon!"

"I'm very proud of you, Yanmega," Niko said, returning the bug type. "We're going to win this. Luxray, you're up! Electric terrain!"

The Gleam Eyes Pokémon roared out, summoning all of his available electricity as if he were using discharge. When he was finished, the battlefield gleaned a pure yellow color, and electric sparks flailed around randomly. Danielle commanded Golduck to use hydro pump, only for Luxray to block it with discharge, aided by the electric field he had created. The resulting explosion carried across the battlefield and hit Golduck, launching it backwards. However, the Duck Pokémon still managed to get back up and use aqua jet.

Is she crazy? Niko thought to himself. Turns out, she was. Golduck charged at Luxray, through an electric field, and slammed into the Gleam Eyes Pokémon.

"Thunder fang!" Niko shouted. Luxray grabbed Golduck's wrist, fired off electric shocks via his fangs, and threw Golduck into the wall directly under the monitor, far off of the battlefield and near the referee.

"Golduck is unable to battle, Luxray is the winner! Danielle will now send out her third and final Pokémon!" the referee declared.

"Froslass, go!" she said.

"Luxray, return," Niko said, withdrawing his Pokémon. "You did excellent. But I want to give someone else a chance at this. Boldore, I choose you!" he said, throwing out an ultra ball.

"What!?" Danielle shouted, looking disappointed. Seemingly steeling herself, she commanded the Snow Land Pokémon to use double team to block Boldore's rock slide and subsequent stone edge. "Use hail!"

Now, she controlled the field, as the electric terrain began to disappear with the change in weather. Froslass, disappearing amongst the hailstorm she created, fired off shadow ball after shadow ball at Boldore, who took each hit in turn, trying to focus on where his opponent might be. All he could hear, though, was Niko's calming voice.

"Focus, Boldore, focus. You can take any hit Froslass throws at you, just focus on predicting where she'll be next…"

Boldore felt it—he heard it. Heard, through the quiet whoosh of the gusts of hail, something moving. Moving between them. He heard the slight changes in the tone of the wind's sound. That's when he figured out where she would be next. "BOL!"

"Right!" Niko shouted, getting it as well, "Use smack down!"

Boldore quickly fired off a golden sphere with a small rock shard in the center, directly in front of him. He then heard a loud thump. Turns out, so did Niko, as he commanded Boldore to now use stone edge. With a powerful stomp with his pointed foot, Boldore conjured light-blue pointed stones from the ground, each popping out of the ground in a linear motion before hitting Froslass and launching her high into the air. By the time Froslass hit the ground again, the hailstorm disappeared, and Boldore had won.

"Froslass is unable to battle, Boldore is the winner! And the victory goes to Niko from Pallet Town!" the referee declared.

"Yes!" Niko shouted, running over to slide on his knees and hug Boldore. "I've missed you, buddy. Thanks for getting to battle with me again."

"They did it!" Brittany shouted. It was clear now, at least to her, that Niko was becoming a far more powerful trainer. Back in Johto or Hoenn, he couldn't have hoped to have such an easy time winning a league battle.

Niko walked out from the tunnel, Boldore and Luxray at his sides, when he saw Charlotte run up to him and quickly embrace him. "Great job!" she said. Charlotte congratulated both of Niko's Pokémon before quickly walking down through the tunnel to her end of the field.

"For our 14th match of the day, we have Caleb from Mauville City in the Hoenn region versus Charlotte from Castelia City in Unova!" Goodshow announced. Before long, both trainers were summoning their first Pokémon—Sawsbuck for Charlotte, and an Absol for Caleb.

"Energy ball, Sawsbuck!" Charlotte shouted out. Absol, as expected, dodged the attack and moved in for a night slash, the crescent-shaped horn on its head glowing a dark purple color. "Engage it with horn leech!" she directed. Sawsbuck met his opponent head-on, his own antlers glowing a bright green color, highlighting the small spring flowers decorating the antlers. Both Pokémon locked together for several moments before Absol shied away, presumably due to a lack of energy. "Now, use energy ball!"

Sawsbuck fired off a sphere of pure energy at Absol, launching it backwards. On Caleb's command, it quickly got back up and used psycho cut, this time from a distance, and with psychic energy. Sawsbuck attempted to dodge, but was struck by the first couple and couldn't evade any of the subsequent ones. The Season Pokémon crashed into the ground and took an aerial ace from Absol before finally getting back up.

"Sawsbuck, use faint attack!" Charlotte directed.

"Absol, swords dance!" Caleb said calmly. Transparent swords appeared around Absol before it burst into a light red aura. "Now, aerial ace!"

Absol attempted to strike first, but was hit by Sawsbuck in the side, knocking it to the ground. The Disaster Pokémon quickly got to its feet and struck the Season Pokémon, who took the aerial ace to the head before trying to lock Absol in with horn leech again.

"Now, ENERGY BALL!" Charlotte commanded. While at close range, Sawsbuck summoned a third and final energy ball, striking Absol and launching it towards the sidelines of the battlefield, and nearly over the edge. While Sawsbuck collapsed to a knee, he was still in the battle. His opponent could not claim the same.

"Absol is unable to battle, Sawsbuck is the winner!" the referee declared. "Caleb will now use his second Pokémon!"

"Absol, return," he said in a disgruntled tone. "Malamar, I choose you!"

"Malamar?" Niko asked as he noticed an unfamiliar Pokémon appear on the battlefield. It was a dark-purple squid-like Pokémon. It had a pair of fins on the bottom of its body that functioned as its legs. Malamar's main body had six light-yellow spots on the front and back and a light-yellow stripe nearly wrapping around its body above the spots. Its arm-like tendrils were scythe-like in appearance. Malamar had a red beak, half closed eyes with black sclera, yellow irises and wavy "hair" made of eight tentacles.

"Malamar, the Overturning Pokémon. Dark and psychic type. It lures prey close with hypnotic motions, then wraps its tentacles around it before finishing it off with digestive fluids."

"Disgusting," Niko and Warren said simultaneously.

"Sawsbuck, energy ball!" Charlotte shouted.

"Malamar, light screen!" Caleb commanded. The Overturning Pokémon conjured up a transparent screen that blocked the energy ball from hitting. "Now, psycho cut!"

Malamar swung its tentacles around, firing off psychic blades towards Sawsbuck, who once again took the hit before falling to a knee.

"Faint attack!" Charlotte commanded.

"Not that again! Malamar, take the hit!" Caleb shouted, clearly seeing Charlotte's strategy now. Once Sawsbuck hit, she noticed Caleb smirk. "Flamethrower!"

"NO!" Charlotte cried out. Malamar released a powerful jet of orange-red fire at Sawsbuck, knocking him to the ground in defeat.

"Sawsbuck is unable to battle, Malamar is the winner!" the referee declared. "Charlotte will use her second Pokémon."

"Return," she said, angry now. We're going to win this. I will do anything to make sure of that. "Delphox, I choose you!" Our options are limited here in what we can use, but that won't be an issue. "Use flame charge!"

"Malamar, night slash!" Caleb commanded. Delphox, using the flames to increase her running pace, dodged each attempt at night slash before ducking under a glowing, purple tentacle, and slamming into Malamar's chest, launching the Overturning Pokémon into the air. It stopped moving, floating high above Delphox and Charlotte. "Heh, can't get us with flame charge now, can you?" Caleb taunted.

"Why are my guy opponents so arrogant?" Charlotte muttered to herself. Delphox, who sensed the frustration, turned and nodded. Immediately, Charlotte understood what they were about to do. "Delphox, flame charge on the ground, in circles!"

"Huh?" Caleb asked with bemusement.

Delphox and Charlotte ignored their opponents, and ultimately dodged each attempt Malamar made at trying to hit it, as she was too fast to see anymore. Now, all that was left on the field was a five-foot-tall wall of fire. But Delphox was there.

"Mystical fire!" Charlotte commanded. Suddenly, Delphox appeared in the middle of the circular wall and raised her twig at the floating Malamar. "NOW!"

"PHOXXXXX!" Delphox screamed, emitting a massive jet of fire at the Overturning Pokémon, who was not fast enough to evade. Malamar collapsed onto the ground, its body burnt in several places.

"Now, finish it off with flame charge!" Charlotte commanded, thrusting her hand forward. No one even noticed Delphox move, for she was too fast for the naked eye. Suddenly, Malamar was unable to battle.

"Malamar is unable to battle, Delphox is the winner! Caleb will now use his third and final Pokémon!"

"You got lucky there," Caleb said. "I've competed in three Pokémon Leagues, little girl. Don't think I don't know what you're up to."

"I'm. Not. Little," Charlotte said, now furious. "Delphox, let's put this loser in his place. Now."

"Sylveon, I choose you!" Caleb shouted, summoning a familiar-looking fairy type.

"Flame charge!" Charlotte commanded. Just then, Sylveon unleashed a loud, ear-piercing sound. It wasn't screech, for Delphox seemed more than just annoyed with it. She was hurt by the attack and collapsed to the ground.

"Moonblast, now!" Caleb commanded. Sylveon conjured a pink orb that looked similar to the moon before firing it across the field to Delphox. The attack struck her in the chest right after she got up, knocking her onto her back. "Now, giga impact!"

"Delphox, use psybeam!" Charlotte shouted. Weakly, Delphox raised her twig and fired off a beam of psychic energy that barely seemed to hit Sylveon, who was moving with too much force to feel a thing. The Intertwining Pokémon collided with Delphox, dragging her across the field before stopping near the corner edge. Sylveon jumped back to view the damage she did, looking nearly as haughty as her trainer. "Delphox…?" Charlotte said aloud. The fox Pokémon attempted to get back up, but collapsed onto one knee. "No…you can't give in now! Not yet! Delphox!"

Delphox collapsed to the ground, face-first.

"Delphox is unable to battle, Sylveon is the winner! Charlotte will now use her third and final Pokémon!"

"…return," Charlotte said. Don't lose hope…don't lose hope…she thought to herself. Delphox was, very likely, Charlotte's strongest Pokémon. If Sylveon could easily defeat her, then what hope did she have at winning this?

Niko looked down at Charlotte with concern. In his first Pokémon league—the Indigo League—he placed in the Top 32. He was hoping, more than anything in that moment, that Charlotte wouldn't follow in his footsteps in that way. He wanted her to do better than he did his first time around. She was already a far more capable trainer than he was—she couldn't lose now. Especially to this Caleb guy, who seemed to be a piece of work.

"I'm putting all of my trust in you!" Charlotte shouted. "It's just you and me! Pupitar, I choose you!" she shouted, thrusting a pokéball into the air. It opened, releasing the Hard Shell Pokémon. "Pupitar, use rock slide!"

"Sylveon, moonblast!" Caleb commanded. The Intertwining Pokémon summoned a pink sphere that fired off towards Pupitar, shattering all of the rocks in its path.

"Meet it head-on with iron head!" Charlotte commanded, now furious. Pupitar thrust his body forward, colliding with the moonblast, only to be repelled backwards. Pupitar crashed onto the battlefield, landing on his side and having difficulty getting up. "No…no…" Charlotte said. "It can't end like this, Pupitar! It won't end like this! All of that work we put in, only to be defeated by a single attack? NO!"

Pupitar slowly got back up, hearing Charlotte. He winced and, on her command, charged forward again with iron head, only to be knocked to the ground a second time, this time on his back.

"Humph. Guess you're just not ready for the big leagues, girl," Caleb said. "Sylveon, let's finish them off. Use disarming voice!"

"PUPITARRR!" Charlotte shouted. Pupitar was blown backwards by the high pitched sound, which collided with the Hard Shell Pokémon in the form of physical sound waves. Pupitar rolled across the field, still a distance away from his trainer. However, it sounded like she was just next to him. "Pupitar…we can't give up…we…we can't lose hope. Since you hatched, I've always believed in your ability—our ability—to grow stronger together, and to win. I don't know where your egg came from, but I'm glad it came to me. I'm glad to have gotten to know you, and I'm so excited to see where we go from here. One day, I hope we can reach the stage in our lives where we can prove our bond to world as trainer and Pokémon through mega evolution. But to get there, we can't ever give up!"

"You done yet, little girl?" Caleb scoffed. "You're wasting my time with this little monologue of yours.

"What. Did. I. Say. About. Calling. Me. A. Little. Girl!?" Charlotte shouted. "PUPITAR!"

Suddenly, the Hard Shell Pokémon began to light up and grow, illuminating the battlefield. He grew far taller than Charlotte, and even Niko. He was no longer a small, dense shell of a Pokémon. Now, he was a large, bipedal, dinosaur-like Pokémon with a green, armor-like hide covering his body. he had two pairs of pointed teeth: one in the upper jaw and one in the lower. Several spikes of varying size protruded from the back of his head, neck, and shoulders. Both sides of his chest, the center of its back, and his knees had two triangular holes. There was a gray, diamond-shaped patch of scales covering his belly, and a smaller one on his back. He had three claws on his feet and hands. A ring of spikes surrounded the tip of his tail. As soon as he appeared, a sandstorm whipped up.

He roared out viciously, aggressively shaking the ground underneath him. Charlotte stood, paralyzed by bot fear, bemusement, and excitement.

"Tyranitar, the Armor Pokémon. Rock and Dark type. If it rampages, it knocks down mountains and buries rivers. Maps must be redrawn afterward," Niko's pokédex revealed.

"Woah…" Brittany and JJ said in awe. They both remembered the first time they ever saw a Tyranitar—against Fay in the Indigo League quarterfinals. Now one of their friends owned one of her own. Fay, for his part, also raised an eyebrow. He didn't dislike tyranitar as a Pokémon species, and instead seemed more curious about how Charlotte, a relatively new trainer in her own right, would handle something so powerful.

"Let's win this, Tyranitar!" Charlotte shouted, balling up a fist and striking it forward. "TOGETHER! Dark pulse!"

"Sylveon, moonblast!" Caleb shouted, just as surprised as Charlotte and far more intimidated. Sylveon fired off another moonblast, albeit not nearly as strong, as the sandstorm seemed to minimize some of its effectiveness. It met with the dark pulse and exploded in the center of the field, causing a small cloud of smoke to erupt in its wake.

"NOW!" Charlotte shouted. Suddenly, Tyranitar came charging down the field, through the smoke cloud, and striking Sylveon with a powerful iron head, striking the Intertwining Pokémon in the head and launching it backwards. "Rock slide!"

Tyranitar roared out, summoning an avalanche of rocks from above, all of them burying Sylveon. Once the rocks disappeared at the end of the attack, Sylveon simply lay there, breathing heavily by otherwise unmoving.

"Sylveon is unable to battle, Tyranitar is the winner! The victory goes to Charlotte from Castelia City!" the referee declared.

You did it, buddy, Niko thought to himself. He couldn't be happier for Charlotte.

"Tyranitar…" Charlotte said, slowly approaching her massive rock Pokémon. It was hard to believe, at least for her, that tiny little Larvitar now stood in front of her as a large, primarily aggressive Tyranitar. "I'm proud of you. I'm proud of us."

* * *

The only match worth watching after Charlotte's was Oliver's. His was the last, and the most interesting one out of Niko's rivals. It was the first time Niko witnessed a mega evolution in the Kalos League—Oliver's opponent used a mega-evolving Camerupt that was quickly put down by Greninja. Oliver also managed to take down a Crustle and Milotic, both with his Raichu, allowing him to also advance to the Top 16.

"And that concludes the third round of the Lumiose Conference!" President Goodshow announced. "And now…here are the matchups for the fourth round, which will be full team battles and begin at noon tomorrow!"

Niko and Charlotte both eyed the screen. Niko hardly recognized his opponent—he had seen her battles, but that was it. Charlotte, however, recognized hers. She had only met this boy once, but it wasn't an altogether excellent meeting.

"Aaron…?" Warren said.

"Who's Aaron?" Brittany wondered.

"This boy who has a crush on Charlotte," Warren replied, much to Charlotte's discomfort. Emily seemed interested, but decided not to press it, as she noticed how unhappy her daughter felt about this.

"I'm going to beat him, too," she muttered. "Together, with Tyranitar and our mega stone."

Niko placed a hand on her back, feeling the light curves around the nape of her neck. "You can definitely beat him."

"Thanks, Niko," Charlotte said, leaning closely to him, feeling far more comfortable now.

* * *

That evening, Niko sat down to figure out his team for his own battle. Charlotte immediately knew who she would use—as she only had six to choose from. Niko, on the other hand, thought this one through. Judging from what he knew about this female opponent on his, she had a heracross and an unfezant—but that was it. He hadn't really seen her use much else. It also reminded him that he briefly noticed a ring around her wrist with a small, spherical indent in the center. A mega ring, he thought.

Which reminded him of something. Grabbing a pokéball from his box of reserves, and grabbing the mega stone, Niko dashed out of his suite and onto the league grounds, quickly sending out Aggron as soon as he had the space to.

"Hey, buddy," Niko said, bringing in the Iron Armor Pokémon for a hug. "Don't worry, I want to use you in a battle soon enough. Which reminds me…" Niko held out the Aggronite. "Does this look familiar to you, at all?"

Aggron shook his head, but seemed intrigued by the stone. Niko placed it in Aggron's palm, and he eyed it carefully before looking back at Niko, as if to say "where did you find this? What is it?"

"This right here is called a mega stone. It allows you to temporarily evolve to a further stage," Niko said before diving into the basic mechanics of mega evolution, as well as explaining how he came across it. "According to Professor Sycamore, it seems like I have a, well, a 'sixth sense' of sorts when it comes to finding these. I only have two—and one was given to me. Yours is the only one I've legitimately found on my own.

"Venusaur is the other Pokémon that is, right now, capable. But he doesn't want to just yet. I was wondering, if we make it further in this tournament, would you like to give this a try?"

Aggron didn't hesitate to nod in response. Smiling, Niko hugged Aggron again. "Thanks, buddy. Together, we're going to win this tournament. All of us. I believe that."

Aggron once more nodded and, before he was returned to his pokéball, Niko turned to his left to see Fay approaching them.

"Mega evolution," he began. "Can't say I've tried it before, but I've seen Elliot use it. It looks incredible."

"Elliot's the reason I'm in Kalos, actually," Fay raised an eyebrow, and Niko explained his reasons for travelling to Kalos after his battle with Elliot.

"I remember that battle. After it, I talked to Elliot. He wasn't pleased with how his Scizor lost to your Venusaur, when it was nowhere close to having an advantage."

"I guess that's Elliot for ya," Niko said with a laugh.

"You've definitely gotten stronger, and it shows in your battles," Fay said, looking up at Aggron. "I'm glad you've realized your potential."

"My potential?"

"You've always had it, Niko," Fay said. "Even back when we were starting off in Kanto. I didn't realize it until later but, looking back, I guess I always knew it. Knew that you would surpass me as a trainer and go on to do incredible things. See incredible things. And ultimately be an incredible person," he looked at Niko directly. "You're going to win this conference. I know I've said that before, but I mean it this time. You would have won in Unova, I think, had you been more prepared. But you definitely are now."

"Thanks, Fay," Niko said. Aggron let out a low growl of approval. "Heh, thanks Aggron."

"Are you going to use mega evolution in your next battle?" Fay asked.

"I don't know…I'm afraid of trying it."

"Why is that?" Niko explained his joint attempt at it with Venusaur, and how the Seed Pokémon had been so far reluctant to try it again. "Huh…never saw Venusaur as the type to give up."

"Yeah, neither did I," Niko replied.

"It's certainly a role reversal from the first time you lost confidence in yourself," Fay said, "Venusaur has always been the one to bring you back from the edge, not the other way around. In that way, I think you could get through to him."

"You think so?"

"I know so," Fay then nodded to Niko and walked off. "Good luck to you and Charlotte tomorrow!"

Niko thanked him, and returned Aggron. He felt better, as he usually did talking to Fay. However, his feelings about Venusaur and his chances at winning the conference lingered. The Lumiose Conference was only just beginning for Niko.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Long episode, I know, but as I say at the end of this, it's only the beginning. We've still got a lot of Kalos League left. How will Charlotte do in her battle against Aaron? Will Niko be able to use the Aggronite to successfully mega evolve a Pokemon? You'll just have to wait and see! Hope you enjoyed!**


	46. Mega evolve!

**Episode 46: Mega evolve!**

Charlotte put on the white necklace Niko gave her at the Pledging Ceremony. At the bottom of it hung her Key Stone. She couldn't help but smile at the sight of it—she could finally use it. She could finally practice mega evolution. Tyranitar couldn't fit in her suite anymore, so she grabbed his pokéball, the scarf she made for him with the Tyranitarite on it, and left the building early in the morning, while Niko and Warren were off grabbing breakfast with the others.

"Tyranitar, let's go!" she shouted, summoning the Armor Pokémon. "Hey, buddy. Today's the big day. Today, we're battling that guy, Aaron, remember? You evolved into Pupitar against his Rotom," Charlotte said, trying to recall the event for her Pokémon. Tyranitar looked down and nodded, clearly remembering. "Anyways, here," she said, "you can finally wear it."

Tyranitar took the scarf and, initially, had difficulty putting it on. Then Charlotte suggested he sit down so she could help them. Eventually, the two of them managed to fit it around.

"How does it feel? Too tight?" she asked. Tyranitar shrugged, and she tugged on it a moment. It was sort of tight. "After today we'll go get you re-fitted, how about that?"

Tyranitar nodded. Despite the red scarf being too tight for the Armor Pokémon's thick neck, he didn't look bad with it on. The mega stone shone in the morning light, with the black band running in a DNA-esque curve sparkling in the sunlight.

"Today, we're going to win with this," she said with a smirk. Tyranitar nodded, also feeling ready. "But, we have to remember one thing…" she said, looking down. "Do you remember when Niko and his Venusaur tried it? He couldn't control the power he gained from it. No matter what happens, try to control yourself. Listen for my voice, alright? Stay with me today."

Charlotte had secretly worried about this, as she was nearly a victim of Venusaur's sudden rampage. She was partly the reason Niko and his Pokémon couldn't successfully mega evolve, or why they refused to. It was clear that Niko had moved on, but Venusaur hadn't, and it could cripple their chances at greatness. She didn't want that for her and Tyranitar—a great opportunity marred by untamed power and lack of control. It scared her, and she made it her mission that day, during that battle, to successfully mega evolve her Pokémon. It was something she had been waiting to do ever since Larvitar discovered his mega stone in that empty cave. It was something they had both been waiting to do.

* * *

"How do you feel?" Niko asked Charlotte as they stood at the tunnel. Her battle with Aaron was the first one of the day—the first battle of eight for that round. Her friends, family, and Niko were standing there at the tunnel to wish her luck.

"I—I'm alright, actually," she said, reaching out to Niko for a hug. He returned it and, letting go, Charlotte walked off through the tunnel and towards her opponent.

"Welcome to the fourth day of the Lumiose Conference!" Colton Goodshow declared. "I'm your host, as always, Colton Goodshow. By the end of the day, the final eight will be decided! So, without further ado, let's get started! In our first match, we have Aaron from Vaniville Town versus Charlotte from Castelia City in Unova!"

"Charlotte! Hey!" Aaron shouted, waving excitedly to her across the field. "I'm so excited to be battling you again! You look fantastic as always!"

Charlotte wanted to scowl, but she held it back and simply smirked. "Will I look fantastic in the final eight, too?"

Aaron, getting the banter, also smirked. "If you made it there, sure. But that's not likely," his banter wasn't as clever, Charlotte thought.

The referee explained the rules of the match. Now that they were in the Top 16, all battles would not only be a full, six-on-six battle, but also be on themed battlefields. Charlotte's and Aaron's field was a desert field, which reminded Charlotte of the Lumiose Badlands. Exactly what her Tyranitar was comfortable in.

And then, they were off.

"Rotom, I choose you!" Aaron shouted, throwing out a pokéball containing his Plasma Pokémon.

"Smeargle, you're up!" Charlotte also said. "Let's start off with hex!"

"Rotom, block it with electro ball!" Aaron commanded. Rotom conjured a ball made of pure electricity and fired it across the field at Smeargle, who countered with a purple and black ball of her own. The two attacks collided mid-field, kicking up sand and dust around them. "Double team!"

"Flash cannon!" Charlotte cried out. Using her tail, Smeargle fired off a concentrated beam of light across the battlefield, breaking each of the Rotom copies before hitting the real one, knocking it to the side. Rotom shook itself and shot an electro ball in retaliation, this time hitting Smeargle. "Hex!"

Smeargle attempted to use hex, but found herself unable to move all of the sudden. What was happening?

"You're paralyzed…" she said as Rotom fired off another electro ball, knocking Smeargle to the ground. Charlotte took a deep breathe, and composed herself. "Smeargle, do everything you can to move. You can do this."

Smeargle did, trying to first move her hand towards her tail. It took nearly a minute—and a few more electro balls—to finally grip it.

"Now! Hex!" Charlotte commanded. Smeargle flung her tail upwards and then forwards in a flicking motion, firing a hex at an unsuspecting Rotom. The attack hit and launched it into the ground.

"What!?" Aaron shouted. "Err—err, Rotom, use double team!"

"Smeargle! Now!" Charlotte commanded. "Use sketch!" Smeargle, now back on her feet, albeit precariously so, waved her tail around to copy the move. Charlotte then commanded Smeargle to use flash cannon, just like last time, and destroy the copies. "Now! Double team and hex!"

Aaron's eyes widened as he witnessed nearly a dozen Smeargles firing off hexes at Rotom, launching it backwards and onto the sandy surface, unable to battle.

"Rotom is unable to battle, Smeargle is the winner! Aaron will now use his second Pokémon!" the referee declared.

"Return…" Aaron said, looking unhappy. "Humph. Alright then. Shiftry, I choose you!"

"Shiftry, eh?" Charlotte said. She wasn't terribly familiar with one, but Niko told her about Jake's Shiftry. She knew it was a dark and grass type, and that it was fast. Smeargle could certainly keep up, but it wouldn't be easy. "Smeargle, quick attack!"

"Shiftry, leaf storm!" Aaron commanded. The Wicked Pokémon summoned forth a torrent of leaves at Smeargle, hitting her and launching her backwards onto the ground. "Follow up with hurricane!"

Shiftry whipped up a powerful gust of wind with the leaf-fans on its hands, sending Smeargle high into the air. As she fell back to the ground, Shiftry used another leaf storm to launch her across the field, past Charlotte and into the tunnel she came from.

Please get up…please get up…Charlotte thought to herself. Smeargle, somehow, managed to get back up. "Yes! Use quick attack!"

"Shiftry, faint attack!" Aaron commanded. The Wicked Pokémon quickly disappeared as Smeargle ran up towards it. Smeargle stopped, looked around, and waited. The stadium was dead-silent for a moment. "Now!"

Shiftry kicked Smeargle in the back with its wooden foot, knocking her into the sand. Before it was about to use leaf storm again, Smeargle spun around and fired off a flash cannon, directly at Shiftry's face, launching the Wicked Pokémon through the air. However, Shiftry managed to regain its composure while in midair, looked down at Smeargle, and used faint attack. It disappeared, reappeared, and spun around to whack Smeargle with the side of its foot, knocking Smeargle to the ground and ending the match.

"Smeargle is unable to battle, Shiftry is the winner! Charlotte will now use her second Pokémon!" the referee declared.

"Smeargle, return. You're not much of a battler, but you were impressive today as you always have been. Thank you," Charlotte knew exactly who she wanted to use next. "Delphox, you're up!" Once again, we're limited in what we can use in battle. But it won't be a problem. "Flame charge!"

"Shiftry, faint attack!" Aaron commanded. They waited for Delphox to get close before the Wicked Pokémon disappeared and reappeared striking the Fox Pokémon in the side. However, Delphox didn't falter as easily as Smeargle did. She grabbed Shiftry's foot with her free hand and, on Charlotte's command, used flame charge, dragging Shiftry around the field before throwing it onto the ground.

"Well done!" Charlotte said excitedly. Delphox turned to her trainer and nodded. "Now, mystical fire!"

Delphox conjured a massive ring of fire, burning the sand underneath her to be too hot to the touch. Aaron commanded Shiftry use leaf storm, but that was unsuccessful. Delphox then, focusing specifically on her opponent, released a powerful jet of fire across the field and towards the Wicked Pokémon, engulfing it in flames. Shiftry fell back, burns everywhere, and collapsed into the sand in defeat.

"Shiftry is unable to battle, Delphox is the winner!" the referee declared. "Aaron will now use his third Pokémon!"

"Return, Shiftry," Aaron said, sighing loudly. "You're tough, Charlotte. I didn't expect that, actually."

"Why?" Charlotte yelled back. "Why do you underestimate me?"

Aaron shrugged. "Anyway, Tyrantrum, I choose you!" he shouted, summoning a large, dinosaur-like figure. It was predominantly brick-red in coloration, with scaly patterns on its skin and scattered orange highlights on some of the scales and ridges. Plated, armor-like ridges were found on the front of the legs and down the back and tail. Spiky, white "fluff", similar to the primitive feathers on many dinosaurs, extends into a cape-like fringe around the neck. Additional feathering formed a prominent beard on the lower jaw, which was otherwise gray in coloration. Its head is proportionally large, with a ridged snout and powerful jaws. An orange, five-pointed crest extended from the snout above the eyes and point backwards, giving it the appearance of wearing a crown.

"Tyrantrum, the Despot Pokémon. Rock and dragon type. Nothing could stop this Pokémon 100 million years ago, so it behaved like a king," Niko's pokédex stated.

"Delphox, psyshock!" Charlotte commanded.

"Head smash!" Aaron commanded. Tyrantrum lowered its massive head and charged towards Delphox at an incredible speed for something so large. Delphox managed to use flame charge to get out of the way, her psyshock missing.

"Psybeam instead!" Charlotte commanded. This attack actually hit, knocking Tyrantrum in the back of the head. "Well done! Psybeam again!"

"Crunch!" Aaron shouted. Tyrantrum reared its massive head and opened its large maw. Delphox fired off a psybeam into the Despot Pokémon's mouth, causing it to stumble backwards in pain.

"Delphox, return," Charlotte said. I'll have an easier time using someone else," she thought to herself. "Sawsbuck, you're up!"

"Tyrantrum, use head smash!"

"Sawsbuck, nature power!" Charlotte shouted, unsure of what that would look like in a sandy environment. The Season Pokémon cried out and flashed yellow briefly, shaking the ground underneath it. The ground underneath cracked and exploded under Tyrantrum's feet, causing it to quickly lose balance and stumble. "Earth power! Well done! Now, use energy ball!"

"Break it with dragon claw!" Aaron commanded, but Sawsbuck was too fast. The energy ball hit, knocking Tyrantrum back to the ground. "Use head smash!"

"Sawsbuck, dodge and use nature power once more!" Charlotte commanded. Once again, the attack repeated, and she could tell Aaron wasn't happy. He repeated asked Tyrantrum to use either dragon claw, crunch, or head smash, and Sawsbuck would skip out of the way and fire off a nature power or an energy ball, the latter of which seemed to be doing the most damage. "Now! Faint attack!"

"Tyrantrum, now's our chance! Use dragon claw!" Aaron commanded. Tyrantrum paused and waited for Charlotte's Sawsbuck to reappear. He did, slamming into Tyrantrum's side. However, the Despot Pokémon, before it fell, slashed at Sawsbuck, knocking him to the ground, but still able to get back up. Tyrantrum, on the other hand, was unable to.

"Tyrantrum is unable to battle, Sawsbuck is the winner!" the referee declared. "Aaron will now use his fourth Pokémon!"

"Charlotte's doing amazing!" Brittany said, turning to Niko, who was sitting back looking pleased with himself.

"I know she is. She deserves to."

"Alakazam, I choose you!" Aaron shouted, throwing out a pokéball containing the Psi Pokémon. "Use focus blast!"

"Block it with energy ball!" Charlotte commanded. The two attacks collided mid-air. "Now, nature power!"

"Focus blast again!" Aaron shouted. "Aid the attack with psychic!" Charlotte watched in slight confusion as Alakazam fired off a powerfully fast focus blast, striking Sawsbuck before he could use earth power. The Season Pokémon collapsed to the ground. "Now, calm mind."

"Sawsbuck, can you keep going?" she asked. Sawsbuck nodded, slowly but surely standing up again. "Alright. Use faint attack!"

"Wait…" Aaron said calmly. Charlotte was unnerved by his confidence now. Aaron finally seemed in control of the battle. "Now! Focus blast!"

Alakazam spun to the right and fired a focus blast at Sawsbuck as he collided with the Psi Pokémon. He was rocketed backwards, nearly hitting the monitor above the referee that displayed the Pokémon being used in the battle. Sawsbuck slowly fell to the ground next to the referee, who looked scared for his life.

"Sawsbuck is unable to battle!" he said with a surprisingly stable composure, "Alakazam is the winner! Charlotte will now use her next Pokémon!"

"Sawsbuck, return," Charlotte said quietly. "Alright, then, Frillish! I choose you!" she shouted, summoning the pink floating Pokémon. "Use hex!"

"Alakazam, block it with focus blast!" Aaron shouted. The two spheres fired off and collided mid-field. "Now, calm mind!" he said, and Alakazam returned to a meditative position.

"Frillish, water pulse!" Charlotte commanded. Frillish conjured a pulsating sphere of water and fired it at her opponent, who broke out of the calm mind and shifted out of the way to dodge the water pulse. "Damn…" Charlotte muttered. Alakazam is tough…even to just hit, its almost impossible. "Frillish, get in closer and use wring out!"

"Heh, alright Charlotte," Aaron said with a smirk. "Alakazam, use charge beam!"

"WHAT!?" Charlotte shouted, eyes wide open. Alakazam fired off a steady stream of electricity from its spoons, striking Frillish as her tentacles were flaying about. The Floating Pokémon was rocketed backwards, crashing into the sand near Charlotte. To be sure, she could still battle, but barely. "Fr-Frillish!" she said in shock. "U-use hex!"

Frillish slowly got back up and fired off a hex, which was burst wide open by charge beam and struck her directly in the chest, once more rocketing her backwards, now right next to Charlotte.

"Frillish is unable to battle, Alakazam is the winner!" the referee declared. "Charlotte will now use her next Pokémon!"

"That Alakazam evened the playing field…so quickly…" Warren said in shock.

"It's a powerful psychic type. Makes sense," Niko said with a sigh. He had a Kadabra, who was powerful enough, but not on the same level as that Psi Pokémon. He wondered what Charlotte's response to this would be.

"Gogoat, I choose you!" she shouted, summoning the Mount Pokémon. "Let's start off with seed bomb!"

"Alakazam, use focus blast!" Aaron shouted. The Psi Pokémon gathered its two spoons together and fired off a sphere of pure energy, colliding with the seed bombs. Charlotte could now tell that his Pokémon was ready to fight, and fight hard. "Psychic!"

"Razor leaf!" Charlotte said, thrusting her hand forward. Gogoat quickly fired off a torrent of sharp leaves, but they were no match for Alakazam's speed and strength—the Psi Pokémon's eyes began to glow as it lifted Gogoat into the air and tossed him around several times before dropping him back to the ground. "Hmm. Gogoat, use seed bomb again!"

"Focus blast!" Aaron shouted. However, through the resulting explosion came something wholly unexpected—Gogoat. "Huh?"

"Leaf blade!" she shouted. Gogoat charged at Alakazam and, before it could respond, the Psi Pokémon was slashed at with long, leafy vines. Alakazam collapsed to the ground before being pelted by razor leaf. "Yes!"

"Focus blast!" Aaron shouted. This time Gogoat was hit, launching him backwards across the field, where he collapsed, but only temporarily. Gogoat, once he was back on his feet, was breathing heavily, as was Alakazam. It dawned on Charlotte and Aaron that the next successful move would determine who survived and who fainted.

"Seed bomb!"

"Charge beam!"

Both attacks fired off at the same time, resulting in an explosion. Now, instead of Gogoat charging through the smoke cloud, it was a flurry of razor leaves that struck Alakazam and knocked it onto its back. Alakazam slowly got back up as it stared down Gogoat before falling forward on its face.

"Alakazam is unable to battle, Gogoat is the winner! Aaron will now use his fifth Pokémon!" the referee declared.

"Lopunny, I choose you!" Aaron shouted, summoning a rabbit-like Pokémon familiar to Niko. "Let's start off with bounce!"

"Gogoat, vine whip!" Charlotte commanded. Before Lopunny could get off of the ground, Gogoat shot out two green vines to grab onto Lopunny, wrap around its ankle, and throw it down. Once Gogoat released his opponent from the vines, Lopunny quickly got back to her feet and bounded towards her opponent, both feet glowing.

"Jump kick!" Aaron shouted. Lopunny leapt into the air and spun around, slamming its feet across Gogoat's face multiple times before knocking the Mount Pokémon to the ground. "And bounce again!"

Now Lopunny successfully leapt into the air, high above Gogoat, who was struggling to get back up. The Rabbit Pokémon crashed down on Gogoat, slamming her foot onto his back and knocking him back to the ground. "Use leaf blade!" Gogoat charged forward and slashed at Lopunny with a leafy blade conjured from a vine. All of the sudden, Gogoat looked specifically at Lopunny, his cheeks blushing lightly. When Charlotte commanded him to use an attack, he simply refused to listen, instead trotting over to Lopunny excitedly.

"What the…?" Charlotte said aloud.

"Oh, Charlotte," Aaron said, "you need to learn your Pokémon's abilities! My Lopunny's ability is Cute Charm. Do you know what it is?" Charlotte shook her head. "It means contact moves infatuate the opponent!"

Charlotte slammed her face into her hand. Of course, it does…

"Lopunny, use jump kick!" Aaron commanded. Lopunny leapt into the air and spun around several times, whacking Gogoat in the side of the face. "Now, use bounce again!"

The Rabbit Pokémon repeated its combination, leaping high into the air before slamming back down on its opponent. Gogoat crashed into the ground, and Lopunny performed a back flip that landed.

"Gogoat is unable to battle, Lopunny is the winner!" the referee declared. "Charlotte will now use her next Pokémon!"

"Gogoat, return…" Charlotte said. "It's alright, we're still in this. We…we can win this," she looked down at her next pokéball. "We can win this. Delphox, I choose you!"

"Lopunny, return," Aaron said. "This is where it gets exciting, Charlotte. You might not understand this next move, but it's my best one. Gourgeist, I choose you!"

Aaron's sixth Pokémon was an odd one, to be sure. Its body was a black pumpkin with two short, stubby feet. There was a face carved into this pumpkin, having triangular eyes and a half-circle mouth, completed with a spike protruding from the top of the mouth. Above this pumpkin was the head, which was tall, slender, and orange in color. At the top of the head was the face, which had yellow eyes and a small mouth with no nose present. It was completed with its peach-colored hair, which down the sides develops limbs.

"Gourgeist, the Pumpkin Pokémon. Ghost and grass type. It enwraps its prey in its hair-like arms. It sings joyfully as it observes the suffering of its prey," Niko's pokédex declared.

"Gourgeist, use shadow ball!" Aaron shouted.

"Delphox, dodge it with flame charge!" Charlotte commanded. The Fox Pokémon got low to the ground and charged at Gourgeist, quickly moving out of the way of the shadow ball and striking the Pumpkin Pokémon, knocking it out of the way and onto the ground. "And again!"

Delphox spun back around and struck Gourgeist again. And again. And again. Charlotte didn't quite know what was going on—what was Aaron trying to do here?

"Phantom force!" Aaron shouted.

Suddenly, Gourgeist disappeared.

Delphox and Charlotte looked around the battlefield, thoroughly confused. She had never seen this move in action. At least, she didn't recall it.

"Now."

Gourgeist appeared suddenly from behind Delphox and slammed into it, knocking the Fox Pokémon to the ground. Now on her hands and knees, Delphox slowly got back up and stared directly into Gourgeist's yellow eyes. They weren't menacing—they seemed more amused, in a sadistic sort of way. A creepy sort of way.

"Delphox, mystical fire!" Charlotte directed. Delphox spun a ring of fire around in front of her, watching Gourgeist disappear again for a second round of phantom force. Delphox, knowing that her trainer was going to wait, paused the move and waited for Gourgeist, keeping an eye out for just about anything.

Delphox closed her eyes, as if trying to better see the world around her. Suddenly, she heard something. A movement of sorts. Opening her eyes, she spun around and fired a steady stream of flames at a surprised Gourgeist. The Pumpkin Pokémon launched upwards at an angle, nearly hitting the stands above them. Gourgeist crashed into a wall and fell downwards, landing on top of the tunnel in defeat.

"Gourgeist is unable to battle, Delphox is the winner!" the referee declared. "Aaron will now send out his final Pokémon!"

Aaron smirked as he returned Gourgeist, and only Charlotte could see it. However, she had no idea why exactly he was smirking. Did he know something that she didn't? Was he already several steps ahead?

"Lopunny, go!" he shouted. "It's down to the wire now, Charlotte! Let's dance! Lopunny, use shadow ball!"

"Delphox, block it with psyshock!" Charlotte commanded. The inky black ball collided with psychically-charged spheres in the middle of the field, causing an explosion that Aaron quickly took advantage of, clearly taking a play from Charlotte's book and charging through the explosion and slamming Delphox in the side with jump kick. "Psybeam!"

"Dodge, and use hi jump kick!" Aaron commanded. Lopunny side-stepped the stream of psychic energy and slammed its foot directly into Delphox's upper chest, launching her backwards. "Shadow ball!"

Just as Delphox got back up, she was stricken with the shadow ball, which knocked her back down and, now, out for the count.

"Delphox is unable to battle, Lopunny is the winner! Charlotte will now use her final Pokémon!" the referee declared.

"Return, Delphox," Charlotte said softly. She only had Tyranitar, who was naturally at a disadvantage when it came to fighting moves. "I'm with you now, buddy. Let's make this one count! Tyranitar, I choose you!"

"Ah, I was wondering when you'd send him out," Aaron said with a haughty smirk. "Long time no see, Tyranitar."

"Tyranitar…" Charlotte said, pulling out her white necklace to reveal the Key Stone, "are you ready?"

The Armor Pokémon turned, looked at Charlotte and, with more certainty than she had ever seen in the Pokémon, nodded.

"Alright," Charlotte said, taking a deep breath. For her, the world seemed to slow down significantly, and all that seemed to matter now was her and her Pokémon. She felt a rush of energy, like a surge of electricity running through a cord to meet the other end. "Tyranitar, let's prove to the world what we're capable of.

"Tyranitar, mega evolve!"

The Key Stone burst open in a flurry of light. Tendrils of energy emitted from it, connecting with the Tyranitarite wrapped around the Armor Pokémon's neck. Suddenly, Tyranitar began to roar out, as if in pain. However, Charlotte knew that he wasn't. She felt it.

Now, Mega Tyranitar had more gaps in its armor than before, with four new holes along the sides of his neck and throat. The four holes on his chest were larger, with the top two containing red ovals. The spikes on its head elongated to form prominent ridges along its brows. The center spike on his head became a long, upright horn. His chest plated expanded, curving over his shoulders and along his back to form three long, irregular spikes on each side of his body. The scales on his belly were now red instead of blue and seemed to seethe with energy. Two sharp spikes were on his knees, as well as more prominent leg joints. His tail was longer, with three pikes surrounding the tip growing upward and outward.

"Woah…" Warren said, speaking for the group of them sitting in the stands. Emily, of all people, seemed the most shocked, as it was she who first received the egg containing this creature. Fay simply looked impressed.

Aaron's response was simply a smirk. "Interesting. I knew you wanted to mega evolve, but didn't think you'd wait this long to do it. That may have been your mistake."

He then pulled out from his pocket a Key Stone of his own, and Lopunny pulled back some fur from her left ear to reveal a mega stone.

"Lopunny, let's finish this! Mega evolve!"

Now, Lopunny was engulfed in light. The fur on its neck, upper torso, fingers, and legs blackened. The tufts of fur above its eyes combined to form a single butterfly-shaped crest. The cream fur on its wrists and ankles became more round instead of fluffy, but the rest of its lower leg fur is replaced by the pattern of fur now on its legs.

"Oi…" JJ said, sitting back. "This'll be quite the battle, then."

"Tyranitar, use earthquake!" Charlotte commanded. While whipping up a sandstorm, Mega Tyranitar roared out, shaking the ground beneath him. Mega Lopunny, meanwhile, leapt high into the air to dodge the move, and came slamming back down onto Tyranitar with enough force to cause him to crash down onto a single knee. "Dark pulse!"

"Lopunny, dodge and use jump kick!" Aaron commanded. Mega Lopunny shifted out of the way and spun around, slamming its foot into Mega Tyranitar's side. It repeated this several times until it took a hit from Mega Tyranitar's iron head, which knocked it to the ground. Charlotte then followed up with earthquake, making it difficult for Mega Lopunny to get back up.

"Don't stop, Tyranitar!" she shouted. "We're going to win this! We will!"

Niko's eyes widened. He had never seen Charlotte so amped up. She sounded like she was on the verge of losing her mind. He sat forward, watching Mega Tyranitar pelt Mega Lopunny with attack after attack, taking advantage of this. In fact, a cloud of dust erupted around Mega Lopunny, and Charlotte and Mega Tyranitar didn't seem to know if they were actually hitting their target.

Suddenly, the dust settled, and standing there, completely still, was Mega Lopunny. And another. And another.

Double team, Niko and Charlotte thought at the same time.

"DOUBLE TEAM!?" Charlotte shouted out angrily. "Tyranitar, iron head!"

"Lopunny, dodge and use hi jump kick!" Aaron commanded. Mega Lopunny got low to the ground, waiting for its opponent to hit. When Mega Tyranitar got close enough, Mega Lopunny leapt into the air, spun forward, and slammed its foot down on the Armor Pokémon's back, forcing it to crash into the ground. "Now, use jump kick again!"

Mega Lopunny continuously kicked Mega Tyranitar, quickly subduing the Armor Pokémon before throwing a final kick to the face.

Charlotte noticed her vision blurring slightly as she watched Tyranitar get pummeled. This wasn't happening. Not now, not when she finally figured out mega evolution. She couldn't lose…to a kid! An arrogant child like Aaron! No!

"TYRANITAR!" Charlotte shouted at the top of her lungs, but nothing seemed to happen. Tyranitar slowly got back up, stumbled a little, and fell to the side, reverting back to its original form before fainting.

"Tyranitar is unable to battle…"

What…

"…Lopunny is the winner…"

No…

"The victory goes to…"

This isn't real…

"Aaron from Vaniville Town!" the referee declared.

Charlotte fell to her knees. Slowly, shaking, she pulled out Tyranitar's pokéball and returned him. She ripped off her white necklace and threw the Key Stone aside before getting up and storming off. She didn't quite know how to feel.

* * *

Niko found Charlotte sitting in the lobby, all alone. He turned to Emily on his right, and Warren on his left. Of everyone in their group, Charlotte knew them the best.

"Niko, you should go," Warren said.

"Why me? Shouldn't Emily go?"

"I'm her mother," Emily said, "the last person she wants to hear from is probably me."

"No, I think that spot is reserved for Aaron," Warren said, partly as a joke, and partly in all seriousness. He then slapped Niko's back. "You're up, buddy."

"Alright," Niko said. His battle wasn't until later, and so he had some time. He was currently missing Ian's battle against some trainer from the Johto region, but that didn't matter to him. No, Charlotte was the only thing that mattered.

He slowly walked up to her. When he was halfway there, he turned back to see Warren and Emily watching. Scowling at them, he forced them to leave without saying a word before turning back to his female companion.

"Charlotte?" Niko said, slowly and calmly.

"What?" Charlotte said angrily before looking up at Niko. "Oh, hi."

"Hi. May I sit here?" Niko asked, referencing the cushion next to Charlotte. She slowly nodded, and he sat down. "How…how're you feeling?" he asked as he noticed how red her eyes were, and the small stain marks on her jeans.

"How do you think I'm doing?" she asked. "Sorry, I don't want to sound crass."

"You have every right to," Niko said before simply wrapping his arm around her and holding her. Then, she completely lost it. And Niko never, in all the time he had known Charlotte until that point, could have related more to her than in that very moment.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Just a casual reminder (since I don't do this _every_ episode, even though I probably should) that I get all pokedex entries and descriptions of Pokemon's biology and appearances from their bulbapedia entries. Those parts, for the most part, are not my original work, and all credit does go to those who write them up. **

**Anyway, long episode. Hope you enjoyed!**


	47. Applying purpose to fear

**Episode 47: Applying purpose to fear**

Niko looked up at the monitor in the lobby, and watched Oliver defeat his opponent—some trainer from Coumarine City. He had been sitting in the lobby with Charlotte for the time equivalent of four Pokémon battles, and he was up next.

"I've gotta go now," he said, letting go of Charlotte. "Are you going to be alright?"

"Yes," she said. Charlotte didn't talk much during that time. She sobbed several times, and sniffled for most of the remaining time. Niko simply sat there with here and occasionally caught the matches shown on the monitors. "Go. Good luck."

"Thanks," Niko said, standing up and walking towards the battlefield entrance nearby. He knew which Pokémon he wanted to use here—it was comprised largely of his Kalos team, with a couple of exceptions. In all, he felt confident about his battle—the team he assembled for this one was strong enough, he thought.

"And now for our sixth match of the day:" President Goodshow announced, "we have Niko from Pallet Town in Kanto, and Heidi from Sootopolis City in Hoenn!"

Niko looked over at Heidi. She was a short woman—or girl? Niko couldn't tell her age—with long black hair and a white dress shirt and black slacks on. She wore purple-rimmed glasses. She had a single earring on with a small charm on it.

Once the referee explained—once again—the rules of the match, Niko and Heidi immediately summoned their first Pokémon.

"Shellder, I choose you!"

"Heracross, you're up! Heidi shouted, sending out a familiar-looking purple beetle Pokémon with a single, prominent horn on its head. Wrapped around the horn was a small stone.

A mega stone…Niko thought. "Shellder, let's go! Use razor shell!"

"Heracross, megahorn!" Heidi commanded. The single, purple horn burst into a bright green color as it charged down the battlefield—a rocky terrain, like Charlotte's but without the sand everywhere—and slammed into Shellder's attack, hitting the Bivalve Pokémon and launching it backwards. Shellder crashed into the ground, slowly getting back up.

Niko grit his teeth. Maybe Shellder wasn't the best choice here. He wasn't nearly as trained as the others, and this Heracross was clearly the exact opposite, considering it can also mega evolve. "Shellder, let's take a risk here! Use clamp!"

"Heracross, close combat!" Heidi shouted. The Single Horn Pokémon dashed forward again. It reached Shellder and, before it could throw punches and kicks at the Bivalve Pokémon, noticed it clamp onto its horn.

"Use ice beam!" Niko shouted. Shellder released a powerful stream of ice from his mouth, freezing the top of Heracross' horn. However, this strategy didn't last too long.

"Megahorn!" Heidi commanded. Heracross—with Shellder still attached, thrust its horn into the ground, slamming Shellder into a small rock as hard as it could, shattering the rock in the process. Shellder let go, unable to battle any more

"Shellder is unable to battle, Heracross is the winner! Niko will now use his second Pokémon!"

"Return, Shellder," Niko said, sighing heavily. He really needed to work with the Bivalve Pokémon. He chose Shellder largely because, remembering past leagues, he hadn't. IT made the most sense for him to at least give him a shot.

"Heracross, return," Heidi said, "Unfezant, I choose you!"

"Aurorus, I choose you!" Niko shouted. He had a better chance of defeating an unfezant than a heracross.

In the Pokémon Village, the Pokémon—primarily Wulfric's—began cheering. Wulfric himself smirked. "Go get 'em. Show the world what you've learned."

"Aurorus, ice beam!" Niko commanded.

"Unfezant, detect!" Heidi commanded. The Proud Pokémon's eyes began to glow as she—it was a female—evaded the ice beam. "Now, steel wing!"

Unfezant opened up her wings and, glowing a bright gray color, charged down the rocky field towards Aurorus, faster than either her or Niko could react to. Niko was about to command the Tundra Pokémon to use thunder wave, but Aurorus was hit too fast, and too hard, by the steel wing to do anything about her own attack. Aurorus collapsed on her front knees, cringing slightly.

"Unfezant, air slash!" Heidi commanded. The Proud Pokémon conjured small, blue-tipped blades of air and fired them downwards at Aurorus, created a small cloud of smoke in its wake.

"Ice beam!" Niko shouted, and, through the smoke, a stream of ice shot out, striking Unfezant's wing and forcing her to fall towards the ground, hitting the side of a rock in the process. "Now, ancientpower!"

While Unfezant was still down, flying rocks conjured by Aurorus pelted her, leaving her under the pile of rubble for some time. The referee was about to make a call when, bursting out of the rocks, Unfezant shot upwards, wings glowing like steel. She then dove towards Aurorus and collided with another ancientpower before landing steel wing.

Unfezant returned to her trainer's end of the field and, along with Heidi, watched Aurorus slowly get back up from taking another beating.

"C'mon Aurorus, we're strong than this. We can do it. All of the Pokémon in Pokémon Village, and Wulfric, they're all cheering for you now. Prove to them—prove to the world—what you've learned there. Aurorus, ice beam!"

"Unfezant, heat wave!" Heidi shouted.

What? Niko thought to himself. Unfezant rose into the air, spread open her wings, and began flapping vigorously, creating an orange gust of heat that she sent towards Aurorus, melting the ice beam in the process. Aurorus roared out—the heat was not good for her.

"Aurorus!" Niko shouted. "Don't give in! Don't let this defeat you! You're stronger than this!"

Aurorus, steeling herself, planted her feet firmly into the ground and, her sails shimmering brightly, created an avalanche from above that sank Unfezant, dropping the Proud Pokémon to the ground in a pile of rocks and snow.

"Now, ice beam!" Niko shouted. Aurorus, aware of where Unfezant likely was, fired off a concentrated stream of ice at her opponent. By the time the avalanche disappeared, Unfezant was simply sitting there, unable to move.

"Unfezant is unable to battle, Aurorus is the winner! Heidi will now use her third Pokémon!" the referee declared.

"Yes!" Niko said, pumping a fist. Aurorus—exhausted—turned to Niko and smiled as well. In the Pokémon Village, everyone was cheering, even Wulfric.

"Unfezant, return. We'll get 'em next time, don't worry. Swampert, I choose you!" she shouted, throwing out a pokéball containing a familiar Mud Fish Pokémon. Jake owned one of them. "Swampert, use earthquake!"

"Avalanche!" Niko shouted. The field was rocked as Swampert bent low to the ground and shook the ground underneath it. Aurorus struggled to keep her balance under the aggressive shaking of the ground, eventually collapsing and misfiring an ice beam on accident. "Ancientpower!"

"Break the rocks with hammer arm!" Heidi commanded. The Mud Fish Pokémon charged into action, its arms and hands glowing white as it smashed virtually all of the rocks Aurous threw at it before eventually slamming a hammer arm down on Aurorus, forcing her entire body into the ground.

"Aurorus is unable to battle, Swampert is the winner!" the referee declared. "Niko will now use his third Pokémon!"

"Geez…" Warren said, "what's going on?"

* * *

Meanwhile, Charlotte remained in the lobby, watching the match from there. She didn't want to be around anyone at the moment, and figured this was the best place, since everyone was in the stands.

Well, almost everyone.

"Hey, Charlotte!" Aaron's voice called out from nearby. Charlotte looked up and, with all of the strength she had left, held in the rage that would have strangled the young trainer. Aaron sat down next to her. "How're you feeling?"

"How do you think I'm feeling?" Charlotte asked slowly.

"Pretty bad. Listen, I'm really sorry, but this is just how it goes, y'know? We win, we lose. If there's anyway I can make it up to you—"

"GO AWAY!" Charlotte said, finally snapping. "GO! AWAY! I DON'T WANT YOU HERE, I DON'T WANT YOU ANYWHERE NEAR ME. GOT IT? IS THAT GOING TO FINALLY PENETRATE YOUR ARROGANT LITTLE SKULL?"

The few people who were passing by stopped and stared at Charlotte and Aaron, but she didn't care. She lost all interest in caring about others at the moment.

"But, I want to—"

"IF YOU WANT TO MAKE ME FEEL BETTER, THEN YOU WILL GET THE HELL OUT OF MY FACE!" Charlotte said, pointing in a random direction. Aaron slowly got up, holding his hands out in front of him as a lame means of protection, and ran off, his backpack swaying behind him.

Stressed, physically and emotionally, Charlotte simply stood up and ran out of the lobby, and the stadium. She had to be where no one else was. She had to be away from everyone for the moment.

* * *

"Aurorus, return," Niko said, sighing heavily. "Chesnaught, it's your time to shine!" he said, summoning the Spiny Armor Pokémon. "Let's show the Kalos League what you can do, too! Use needle arm!"

"Block it with hammer arm!" Heidi shouted. Swampert charged forward, meeting Chesnaught's arm with its own. However, Heidi and Swampert had no idea how much practice Chesnaught had had in dealing with hammer arm. With his free hand, Chesnaught used a second needle arm and slammed it against Swampert's chest, launching the Mud Fish Pokémon backwards and caused it to stumble.

"Seed bomb!" Niko commanded. Chesnaught fired off multiple small, glowing green seeds at Swampert, who blocked them with protect before using earthquake. "Maintain your stance, Chesnaught. Plant your feet in the ground, like this," Niko said, widening the gap between his feet so they were shoulder-length apart, and bending down slightly. Chesnaught tried this, and managed to stay balanced, albeit still precariously so. "Now, use rollout!"

Chesnaught leapt forward into a glowing green sphere as he charged down the field at Swampert, who used hydro pump in an attempt to slow down the Spiny Armor Pokémon. Chesnaught burst out of the rollout and used a close-range seed bomb to pelt Swampert, causing the Mud Fish Pokémon to take a knee, cringing slightly.

"Now, needle arm!" Niko shouted, thrusting a fist forward. Chesnaught reached forward and slammed a glowing green fist down atop Swampert's head, only to be matched by hammer arm.

"Hydro pump!" Heidi commanded. Swampert looked up at Chesnaught, and fired a high-pressured stream of water out, forcing Chesnaught to rocket backwards, breaking several rocks in his way before collapsing near Niko. A blue aura surrounded Swampert as it got back up.

Torrent…Niko thought to himself, remembering when Feraligatr's ability also kicked in. "Chesnaught, we have to be careful. That hydro pump could seriously hurt now. Use seed bomb!"

"Block it with hydro pump!" Heidi commanded.

"Go in and use needle arm!" Niko shouted. Amidst the explosions resulting from the seed bomb/hydro pump collision, Chesnaught once more charged towards Swampert, both arms glowing bright green. Swampert did the same, only with hammer arm. Once the two were close, Niko shouted. "Now! Switch to spiky shield!"

Chesnaught skidded to a stop and spun around and dropped to the ground, the spiky armor on his back revealing itself to Swampert, who collided with it and was flung backwards, landing on the rocky terrain and roaring out from making contact with the spikes.

"Now, finish it off with seed bomb!" Niko shouted. Chesnaught rose back up and pelted Swampert with glowing green seeds. Once he was finished, everyone waited for the resulting smoke cloud to disappear to see if Swampert could get back up again.

"Swampert is unable to battle, Chesnaught is the winner!" the referee declared. "Heidi will now use her fourth Pokémon!"

"Swampert, return," Heidi said. "That was a good match there, Niko. Thanks for it. Espeon, I choose you!"

"Chesnaught, return," Niko said. "Eelektross, you're up!" he said. There was no way he was letting Chesnaught—already severely damaged by Swampert—go up against a powerful psychic type like Espeon. "Wild charge!"

"Use psychic!" Heidi commanded. Espeon's eyes began to glow as she took control of the floating EleFish Pokémon and thrust him aggressively to the side. "Now, psybeam!"

"Eelektross, coil!" Niko shouted. Eelektross took the psybeam, coiling up on the ground. A light, transparent aura surrounded him while he did so. "Now, thunderbolt!"

"Control it with psychic!" Heidi shouted. Espeon attempted to take control of the bolt of lightning heading straight for it, but failed and was stricken. Espeon was thrust backwards before collapsing onto the ground. "Morning sun!"

It wasn't morning, but the sunlight shining down on Espeon caused it to start glowing brightly. Meanwhile, Niko commanded Eelektross to use coil again. Nearly a minute later, both Pokémon were ready to resume the battle.

"Wild charge!" Niko shouted.

"Psybeam!" Heidi commanded. Eelektross charged through the psybeam before crashing into Espeon, dragging it along the field.

"Thunderbolt!" Niko shouted. While thrusting Espeon into a nearby rock, Eelektross emitted more electricity, ultimately paralyzing the Sun Pokémon. When Eelektross let go and backed off of his opponent, he stumbled a little. Right, wild charge does damage to the user, too…Niko thought, I have to be aware of that. "Charge beam!"

"Psybeam!" Heidi shouted. The two elemental beams of energy collided in the space between before Niko, taking a risk, commanded Eelektross to use wild charge once more. The EleFish Pokémon got low to the ground and, surrounding himself with sparkling yellow electricity, charged down the battlefield until he crashed into Espeon, shattering the rock it was laying against and launching it across the rest of the field.

"Espeon is unable to battle, Eelektross is the winner!" the referee declared. "Heidi will use her next Pokémon!"

"Espeon, return," Heidi said, "Heracross, I choose you!"

"Heracross again, eh?" Niko wondered. "Alright then. Eelektross, use thunderbolt!"

"Dodge and use close combat!" Heidi commanded. Heracross charged down the battlefield, hands, feet, and horn all glowing brightly as it slammed each into Eelektross mercilessly. Heracross ended the attack by slamming its horn down on top of Eelektross' head, forcing it into the ground.

"Thunderbolt!" Niko shouted. While still above the EleFish Pokémon, Heracross was stricken with a bolt of lightning that launched it high into the air and backwards before crashing onto the ground. "Now, wild charge!"

Eelektross rocketed forward towards Heracross, electricity raging around it. Due to the coiling, he was far faster than the Single Horn Pokémon, and likely as powerful. However, the wild charge was taking its toll.

"Heracross, megahorn!" Heidi commanded. Heracross raised its single, purple horn and crashed it down on Eelektross as the EleFish Pokémon collided with it. Sparks emitted around Heracross' body, and suddenly it found difficulty in moving. However, it had defeated its opponent.

"Eelektross is unable to battle, Heracross is the winner!" the referee declared.

"Heracross, return," Heidi said. "You need some rest."

In the stands, Niko's friends and family were sitting quietly, occasionally commentating to one another. Brittany, JJ, and Jake were more impressed, having not witnessed a full battle from their friend in some time, much less any of his Kalos Pokémon in action.

"They each have three left…" JJ said, peering over at the monitor displaying the Pokémon still in the fight.

* * *

Charlotte sat down in her bed to watch Niko's battle from there. It had been on so Noibat—who stayed in their suite for the day—could watch Charlotte's match. Nearly a minute later, she heard a noise coming from under the bed. Looking down, she saw two small feet poking out. Charlotte couldn't help but smile as she tickled the feet underneath, forcing Noibat to come out from under the bed and see her trainer sitting atop.

"Care to join me?" she asked. "I'm watching Niko's battle," Noibat nodded and chittered as she fluttered up to the top of the bed and perched herself inside Charlotte's lap. "Did you watch the battle earlier?" she asked. Noibat looked up at her trainer and nodded. "I'm glad you didn't have to participate. It would've been difficult for you."

Suddenly Noibat's expression darkened and looked more ambitious. She then began to chitter loudly and quickly, trying to communicate something to Charlotte. She seemed to quickly figure it out.

"You'll be strong one day, too," Charlotte said quietly. "I promise you that."

Noibat nodded, and turned to watch the rest of the battle. Heidi's Heracross had just defeated Niko's Eelektross.

"That Pokémon is surely something…" Charlotte muttered to herself, and noticed Noibat nodding.

* * *

"Slurpuff, I choose you!" Niko shouted, just as Heidi summoned a Zebstrika.

"Zebstrika, use wild charge!" Heidi commanded. The Thunderbolt Pokémon lit up a coat of electric sparks as it charged down the battlefield towards Slurpuff.

"Dazzling gleam!" Niko commanded decisively, thrusting his hand outwards. Slurpuff lit up the area around it, causing Zebstrika to veer to the side on accident and crash into a nearby rock. "Now, play rough!"

"Zebstrika, use discharge!" Heidi shouted. The electric type cried out, releasing electricity in every possible direction and hitting Slurpuff, knocking her backwards and onto the rocky terrain. "Now, flame charge!"

"Cotton guard!" Niko commanded. Slurpuff immediately got back up and surrounded herself in sticky cotton, creating an armor of sorts. Planting her feet into the ground, as Niko was then teaching her, she braced for the impact of the flame charge, only allowing herself to be dragged slowly by the Zebstrika, despite how fast the Thunderbolt Pokémon actually was. "Now, play rough!"

Slurpuff jumped into action, kicking and punching the large electric zebra, trying to find and exploit any soft or weak spots on her opponent. Zebstrika, after taking a kick behind a knee, collapsed to the ground, where Slurpuff used dazzling gleam to hit it once more, knocking it onto its side.

"Let's finish this!" Niko shouted, balling a hand into a fist. "Slurpuff, use psychic!"

Slurpuff's eyes started to glow a bright purple, and she found herself quickly taking control of her opponent, launching it across the field. Zebstrika hit several rocks before coming to a stop right in front of Heidi.

"Zebstrika is unable to battle, Slurpuff is the winner! Heidi will now use her next Pokémon!"

"Return, Zebstrika. Skuntank, I choose you!"

"Slurpuff, be ready," Niko said. "This Pokémon can hurt you. It's a poison type. It's also a dark type, so we can't use psychic," Niko cautioned. Slurpuff heard this and turned to face her new opponent—a massive skunk-like Pokémon with a massively long and fluffy tail that laid almost entirely on the Pokémon's back, ending on top of the head in a toupee-fashion.

"Skuntank, use acid spray!" Heidi shouted. The Skunk Pokémon opened its mouth and spat out a light purple liquid everywhere, hitting Slurpuff's cotton guard, which she quickly disposed of and evaded the move. "Now, sludge bomb!"

"Slurpuff, dodge and use dazzling gleam!" Niko said. We have to try and keep our distance…he thought, these Skuntank can get nasty if we're too close. Slurpuff jumped to the side, evading the dark green and brown blobs of sludge before emitting a bright pink light, engulfing the entire field in it. "Now, use cotton guard again!"

"Skuntank, move forward and use night slash!" Heidi commanded. Skuntank bounded forward, its front claws glowing a dark purple. Slurpuff protected herself with sticky cotton before also charging forward to use play rough. In the middle of the field, above where the acid spray had hit, the two Pokémon found themselves in close combat with one another, kicking, stabbing, and punching one another mercilessly.

"Dazzling gleam!" Niko shouted.

"Sludge bomb!" Heidi shouted. Both Pokémon repelled backwards, Slurpuff's cotton guard melting away, and Skuntank trying to see after being temporarily blinded.

"Slurpuff, play rough again!" Niko commanded. Slurpuff quickly got up and leapt through the air before landing on top of Skuntank, slamming her stubby feet on top of the Skunk Pokémon. She continued to barrage it with attacks before Niko asked her to jump in front of the poison type and use dazzling gleam again.

"Acid spray!" Heidi commanded. Skuntank spit out more acid, hitting Slurpuff and causing her to stumble backwards while emitting the dazzling gleam. Slurpuff tripped on a small rock and fell on her back. "Sludge bomb!"

"Use psychic to throw them to the side!" Niko cried out. If I can't directly hit Skuntank, might as well try hitting its attacks, he thought. Slurpuff obeyed, re-directing the attack into a nearby rock with her newfound psychic abilities.

Slurpuff got up, taking advantage of Skuntank and Heidi's relative surprise before realizing that the acid spray did more than just damage her—it poisoned her.

Niko saw this as well. Now, he hoped to at least bring Skuntank down with Slurpuff, should she also faint. "Slurpuff, don't worry. And don't give up."

Slurpuff turned to Niko and nodded. This is why she came with him on his journey. This is why she left her friends back on route 7. To become stronger. Turning back to Skuntank, she quickly created another cotton guard and charged at her opponent, who continued to spray acid everywhere. Niko commanded her to use play rough, and Heidi commanded her Pokémon to use night slash. Both collided in the middle of the field once more and beat the other up until neither could land a successful punch.

"Now, finish it off with dazzling gleam!"

"Sludge bomb!" Heidi commanded. In a repeat of a previous strategy, both Pokémon repelled one another with their attacks, launching one another backwards until they both collapsed in front of their trainers, unable to move.

"Skuntank and Slurpuff are both unable to battle!" the referee declared. "Niko and Heidi will now use their next Pokémon! For Heidi, it is her final Pokémon."

"Niko can win this," Warren said, sitting back confidently. "He has Chesnaught, and whatever his sixth Pokémon will be."

JJ, Brittany, and Jake all agreed. "But it looks like that Heracross can mega evolve, right?" Jake eventually said, noting the stone wrapped around its horn when Heidi summoned it.

"True, very true. But Niko's defeated mega evolved Pokémon before, despite not using it himself."

"Heracross, I choose you!" Heidi commanded.

"Talonflame, you're up!" Niko said. This is what I've been waiting for. I can beat this Heracross. Talonflame can beat this Heracross. "Use flame charge!"

"Heracross! Show the world our bond!" Heidi commanded, placing two fingers on the Key Stone earring. "Mega evolve!"

Heracross' mega stone—wrapped around its horn—began to glow as well, engulfing it in a bright light that resulted in a different looking Pokémon. For starters, it was far bulkier. Thin orange markings now rimmed its head, hands, and shoulders. Additionally, there was a half-circle, orange marking over its eyes. It now had a long, pointed nose that curved slightly upward. Its back now lacked wings and was completely yellow. The horn on its head had grown into a large, simple spike with two smaller spikes on the front. The antennae lengthened as well, and now had ovoid tips. Mega Heracross' forearms thickened and lost their spines.

"Use aerial ace!" Heidi commanded, and Mega Heracross' massive horn met Talonflame's flame charge with equal force. However, as soon as Talonflame made contact with the Single Horn Pokémon, it burst into flames briefly before taking a knee. "Burnt!"

"Talonflame, this match is ours!" Niko shouted, making two fists with his hands. "Use brave bird!"

"Heracross, use mega horn!" Heidi commanded. Mega Heracross charged forward to meet Talonflame again, its horn slamming against the side of the Scorching Pokémon, launching it into the ground. "Now, aerial ace!" Mega Heracross, its horn glowing a bright white color, slammed it down on top of Talonflame's back, but stumbled backwards from the nasty burn the fire type was leaving for it.

"Talonflame, flame charge!" Niko shouted, and his bird Pokémon leapt up into the sky and spun around to create speed before diving back down and crashing into Mega Heracross.

"Grab onto it and use aerial ace again!" Heidi shouted. Mega Heracross' horn slammed down on top of Talonflame once again, launching it into the ground. "Close combat!"

Mega Heracross, continuing its onslaught of attacks, now started kicking and punching the Scorching Pokémon without end. Talonflame, the entire time, took the hits, knowing that she could win this. Like Slurpuff, she too wanted to get stronger. Not just for herself, but for Niko. That's why she fought in those gym battles. That's why she continued to learn new moves, and get faster. For this moment.

"Flare blitz!" Niko shouted. Talonflame's eyes opened up and, rising only a few inches off of the ground, shot at Mega Heracross, dragging the Single Horn Pokémon across the ravaged rocky battlefield and past Heidi, crashing into the tunnel wall separating the battlefield from the rest of the stadium. "Keep it up, Talonflame!"

"Heracross!" Heidi shouted, but couldn't come up with a counter to this. "Re-reversal!"

It was too late. When Heidi issued her command, Heracross reverted to its original form and collapsed on the ground as Talonflame retreated back to her own trainer, albeit exhausted. As soon as the referee declared a winner, she collapsed at Niko's feet.

"Heracross is unable to battle, Talonflame is the winner! And the victory goes to Niko from Pallet Town!" the referee declared.

"Hey, Talonflame," Niko said softly. "I'm proud of you. Not every Pokémon can square up to a mega-evolved Pokémon like that. You did, just like you did against Wulfric."

Talonflame nodded before collapsing in Niko's arms, fainting as well.

* * *

Charlotte smiled as she and Noibat watched Talonflame defeat Mega Heracross. While the Sound Wave Pokémon was cheering wildly for her friends, Charlotte felt bittersweet, and understandably so. She wished she could advance to the next round with Niko. She wanted to be the person he faced at the end. She wanted to battle against him, because he was the strongest trainer she knew. If she wanted to ever be strong, she needed to face him. That, she realized, was her goal.

It had first been simply to get better at battling, after her dismal showing in Unova's Junior World Cup, held in Lacunosa Town. However, as her journey progressed, and she felt stronger and more confident, and her relationships with her Pokémon grew, she met her initial goal. She was the Pokémon trainer that she had dreamed of becoming. Now, she needed another goal, and she realized it after watching her closest friend battle.

She wanted to battle Niko, and she wanted to win. And, in realizing this, she felt better about her loss, but not much better.

* * *

Niko watched the final battle of the fourth round before, at sunset, President Goodshow revealed the final eight, as well as their respective match-ups. Niko noticed that, while Charlotte did not advance, all of their rivals did—Wally, Ian, Oliver, and Aaron. Then, as the profiles flipped around and randomly moved around on the monitor, Niko wondered if he would face one of them. Chances were high that he would.

And, when he saw his profile, and his next opponent, he was right. He would be facing Ian.

Brittany and JJ both looked to Niko. They had known Ian back in Sinnoh. Brittany admitted to once liking the boy. Lauren had defeated him in the Lily of the Valley Conference. They both found themselves far more interested in this match than any previous ones.

"Go get 'em, Niko," Brittany said as they were exciting the stands to go grab dinner together. "He'll be tough, but you're tougher."

Niko nodded to her. "I just have to find the right Pokémon to use. I have an idea of who he'll battle with. The question is…who is up for the challenge now?"

"I can think of a few," Brittany said, and began running ideas by Niko as they sat down at the dining hall. Minutes later, he noticed Charlotte show up behind them. "Hi Charlotte!"

"Hey Brittany," Charlotte said as she sat down in between Niko and Warren. "Congrats, Niko. Who're you up against now? I didn't get a chance to see."

"Ian."

"Oh…well, good luck," Charlotte said. Her tone was a mixture of melancholy and surprise.

"Are you feeling any better?" Niko asked. When Charlotte shrugged, he continued. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really."

"Fair enough," Niko said, and continued eating while making conversation with Brittany and JJ.

That evening, right after Niko and Warren went to bed, Charlotte waited a moment before turning on the light. Noibat was sitting above and behind her. She placed a finger up to her mouth as a way of saying "shush!" before getting up, putting on her shoes, and walking over to the box full of Niko's reserves. Making as little sound as possible, she pulled out the scarf at the bottom of the box and a pokéball, and quietly walked out of the room, Noibat fluttering behind her.

"Venusaur, I choose you!" she said in a low voice, summoning the Seed Pokémon. Noibat was perched on her head. "Hi…I'm Charlotte."

Venusaur nodded solemnly, as if uninterested and slightly afraid. He also looked tired.

Charlotte held out the scarf and, instinctively, Venusaur shook his head. "Okay, look. Niko won't admit this, but he really wants to work on mega evolution with you. You two have, by far, the closest bond. Tomorrow, he's going up against a strong trainer. I would know—I lose to him a few months ago in a practice battle. And he supposedly has a strong Garchomp with him, one that's probably capable of mega evolution.

"If I'm correct, then Ian might use it, and you're one of the few strong enough to take it down. I know that you are afraid, that you're worried about mega evolving. Trust me, so was I when you did!" Charlotte laughed nervously, but hardly seemed to change Venusaur's expression. She sighed. "If you were worried about me never forgiving you for that, for nearly killing me with frenzy plant, then you don't have to worry. Because I do. I did. I understand why you would stop, but now is not the time to give up. Niko needs you. He wants to work with you. He wants to grow stronger with you. He loves you, Venusaur!

"Truly, he does. Back when we were in Unova, and he finally revealed to Warren and I that he was a trainer before, he wouldn't stop talking about some of the times you two had. He told me about your temporary blindness, and how you overcame that! A couple weeks ago, I was really nervous about participating in a Pokémon League—this was my first. But Niko told me a story about how he was also nervous, and you helped put him back in place. He's told me that you are his rock—he leans on you, trusts you, relies on you to help him, and in turn he does the same. Your bond is unique—unique enough that mega evolution shouldn't be a problem.

"Look, the choice is still yours, but I think you should give it another shot, at least. Prove to Niko that you're willing to stand with him. Show him that you won't give up on him, because he will never give up on you. You never have, either, until now. But you can change that."

She again held out the scarf, the Venusaurite gleaming in the moonlight. Noibat chittered quietly above the two of them, moved slightly by Charlotte's monologue.

"Venus," Venusaur said in a deep, low tone. He then nodded. Charlotte's eyes lit up with inspiration and, excitedly, she put the scarf on Venusaur.

"You can do this, buddy. I know you can," Charlotte said before placing her head on Venusaur's forehead, and closed her eyes.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Now at the quarterfinals! The next episode should be exciting, I hope. Will Niko and Venusaur achieve mega evolution successfully? Can Niko defeat Ian? Well, you'll just have to find out!**


	48. Niko vs Ian

**Episode 48: Niko vs. Ian**

As Charlotte was returning to her room, she saw Fay walking by, presumably to his own hotel suite. She briefly nodded to him before he approached her.

"How're you holding up?" he asked.

"I'm…I've been better," she said, looking away nervously. She had never really known Fay, outside of the stories Niko had told her. He was slightly more intimidating in person, she thought.

"We've all been there," he said with an empathetic expression.

"Even you? Niko said you're one of the best rivals he's had."

"Not the strongest. You know, in my first Pokémon League, I placed Top 8. Wanna know what I lost to?" When Charlotte shrugged, he smirked and replied. "A tyranitar. It defeated my Charizard, and my involvement in the conference was over. I had defeated all of my rivals—Niko, Elliot—but I couldn't overcome that tyranitar. When I saw yours evolve yesterday, I was impressed at how you were able to control it. Many trainers have difficulty with that. Unrelated, but they also have difficulty raising a salamence."

"I see," Charlotte said. "I don't want to sound rude but…what's your point?"

"My point is, you're stronger than you realize. You might not see it yet, but Niko certainly does. Your friend Warren does. I listened to everyone praise your match after you lost, despite you losing. This was your first Pokémon League, and many trainers can't claim at Top 16 spot on their first try, especially in a league of 128 trainers and mega evolutions. I hardly know you, but color me proud."

"Wow…" Charlotte said, "th-thanks, Fay."

"You and Niko are not dissimilar, Charlotte. You've gone through very similar situations, and had very similar reactions. You two work very well together, if you want my opinion."

"Really?"

"Charlotte, I've known Niko for over a decade. I know him better than anyone here except for his mom, and probably Jake. Trust me on this."

Charlotte simply nodded, taking in the information.

"And, by the way, I just saw you with Venusaur. I don't know what you talked to him about, but I hope it makes a difference. Of all of Niko's Pokémon, Venusaur is by far the closest, and the most sensitive to Niko's feelings and emotions.

"I've begun to realize that," Charlotte said. "Anyway, I'm heading to bed now. Thanks, Fay, for the talk."

"Anytime, Charlotte."

* * *

"Niko!" Ian shouted the following day as the latter found the former sitting at a table in the dining hall with Charlotte, Warren, and Jake. Brittany and JJ were off somewhere else, and the two mothers were sitting at a nearby table. "How're you feeling?"

Niko looked up at his blonde-haired rival and nodded. "Feeling pretty good. You?"

"Yeah, I'm fired up, man! I think we're the second battle?"

"Correct. My friend Oliver is up first."

"Oooh, you know him? He's pretty strong!" Ian said. "That Charizard of his…phew. I'd hate to go up against him, you know."

"Why?" Niko wondered. He hadn't caught that part of the battle—he was consoling Charlotte at the time.

Ian then leaned down close and whispered. "It mega evolves."

"Really now?" Niko raised an eyebrow. "That's pretty incredible."

"Oh yes! Yes yes! Anyways, I'll catch ya later, gonna meet up with my sister! Good luck!"

"Bye Ian, good luck to you too!" Niko called out as Ian sprinted off through the dining hall, nearly running into Wally and knocking his food over. Niko then waved to Wally, catching his attention. The green-haired trainer jogged over to the table and sat down next to Jake. "Hey Wally, how're you feeling today?"

"Good! I'm excited about my battle! What about you?"

"Same here," Niko said with a smirk. "I'm battling Ian…y'know, the guy that nearly knocked you over."

"Eccentric dude," Wally said with a raised eyebrow. "I'm up against this guy from Lumiose City. He looks strong, but we can take him on I think."

"That's good. I wish you luck," Niko said.

"How've you been, Wally?" Jake asked. He and Wally got into a conversation while Niko quickly finished up his breakfast. He needed to run back and grab his belt with pokéballs on it before heading back to the stadium.

* * *

"Welcome to the fifth day of the Lumiose Conference! I'm your host, as always, President Colton Goodshow, and today we've got not one, but two rounds of battling for you! By the end of today, we will have determined our finalists for the Lumiose Conference, who will battle it out tomorrow afternoon for the championship, and the opportunity to participate in the Champion's League against the Elite 4!

"And now our first match, we have Aaron from Vaniville City versus Oliver from New Bark Town in Johto!"

"Oh man, Oliver's gonna whoop Aaron," Warren said, sitting on the edge of his seat. Charlotte slightly smirked—she knew how strong of a trainer Oliver was. She would thoroughly enjoy this.

Turns out, Warren was right. Oliver used all six of his Pokémon, but only lost three to Aaron by the time he won the match with his Mega Charizard, handily defeating Aaron's Mega Lopunny in a few swift moves. Warren and Niko cheered for Oliver, and Charlotte simply clapped. She didn't feel the need to cheer, as she was already through the roof in excitement. And the only people that mattered knew how excited she was.

Niko then stood up and, after hearing his friends wish him good luck, he left the stands to go towards the tunnel leading to the battlefield.

"And for our next battle, we have Niko from Pallet Town in Kanto and Ian from Violet City in Johto!"

"Niko!" Ian shouted as he waved across the battlefield, a mountainous terrain with a waterfall and pond to one side, and a river to another. "Hey!"

"Hi Ian," Niko said, reaching to his belt to grab a pokéball. Ian did the same, just as the referee finished explaining the rules. "Venusaur, I choose you!"

"Ampharos, let's go!" Ian shouted at the same time Niko did. "Oh? Venusaur…this'll be something, that's for sure. Ampharos, dragon pulse!"

"Venusaur, use—huh?" Niko said, leaning to the side to see the red scarf wrapped around the Seed Pokémon's neck. "What…the…"

"VENUS!" Venusaur shouted as he was hit by the dragon pulse, causing him to rock back and forth. This snapped Niko out of his confusion.

"Dammit! Sorry! Venusaur, use razor leaf!"

"Gotta keep up, Niko," Ian said, pointing a finger towards his rival and winking. "Ampharos, use signal beam!"

Venusaur rustled his body, shooting sharp green leaves out and towards Ampharos, who responded with a colorful beam of energy that blew past the leaves and directly hit Venusaur, who winced from the attack.

"Alright, that won't work. Venusaur, solarbeam!" Niko commanded, thrusting his hand outwards. Why is he wearing the Venusaurite?

It didn't take long for Venusaur to build up enough energy to use solarbeam and fire it. The attack collided mid-field with Ampharos' electro ball, nearly negating the attack. However, solarbeam was still more powerful, and burst the electro ball open before hitting Ampharos directly.

"Dragon pulse!" Ian commanded. Ampharos, still reeling from the attack, took a razor leaf before using its own move, which managed to get blocked by another solarbeam. "Blast it! Ampharos, get in close and use electro ball!"

The Light Pokémon charged forward, the red bulb on its tail sparkling with electricity. Ampharos then leapt into the air, spun around, and threw the ball at Venusaur, who blocked it with a concentrated razor leaf, focusing the leaves in a steady, straight direction towards the electro ball.

"Venusaur, now's our chance! Use frenzy plant!" Niko shouted, balling up a fist and thrusting it forward.

"VEE-NUS!" Venusaur shouted, stomping the ground powerfully. Roots shot out of the ground wildly, slamming and slapping Ampharos around before knocking it to the ground, face-forward. Ampharos quickly tried to get back up, but stumbled and fell over a second time in defeat.

"Ampharos is unable to battle, Venusaur is the winner! Ian will now use his second Pokémon!"

"Ampharos, return," Ian said, looking slightly disappointed. "I expected nothing less from your very first Pokémon, Niko. That's for sure. Hawlucha, I choose you!"

"Hawlucha?" Niko wondered, pulling out his pokédex:

"Hawlucha, the Wrestling Pokémon. Fighting and flying type. With its wings, it controls its position in the air. It likes to attack from above, a maneuver that is difficult to defend against."

"Based on this, I've got the perfect counter. Venusaur, return!" Niko said, switching to another pokéballs. "Noctowl, I choose you!"

"Oh, great. Hawlucha, be careful!" Ian shouted. "We can't underestimate Niko! Use stone edge!"

"Noctowl, into the air!" Niko shouted. Hawlucha slammed its fist into the ground, causing pointed rocks to protrude out of the ground in a sequence. Noctowl managed to dodge each of them skillfully. "Now, use zen headbutt!"

"Hawlucha, dodge and use flying press!" Ian commanded. The Wrestling Pokémon leapt out of the way and shot into the air before spinning and diving at Noctowl, landing on its back and forcing both Pokémon into the ground. "Now, high jump kick!"

"Noctowl, dodge and use hypnosis!" Niko commanded. Noctowl shifted out of the way, taking to the sky again before releasing red rings from his eyes. Hawlucha managed to close his eyes and, somehow, perfectly strike Noctowl in the chest with high jump kick, launching the owl further into the air. "Steel wing!"

"Land and use flying press!" Ian commanded. Once again, Hawlucha took to the skies to not only dodge Noctowl, but to also attack, crashing down on the Owl Pokémon a second time.

I have to find a way to get around this. Hawlucha is too fast, Niko thought. Gritting his teeth, he shouted "Noctowl, use zen headbutt, and don't stop until you've hit Hawlucha!" Yeah, that's your genius strategy, isn't it Niko?

"Hawlucha, dodge and use aerial ace!" Ian commanded. Hawlucha attempted to dodge, and succeeded at first. However, when it went in for an aerial ace, Noctowl doubled down and slammed his head into Hawlucha's just as the aerial ace hit. Both Pokémon repelled one another and were thrust backwards.

"Zen headbutt again!" Niko shouted. Noctowl opened his wings and shot towards Hawlucha, his head sparkling with blue electricity. Hawlucha braced himself for the attack by preparing for an aerial ace. "Now, hypnosis!" Niko commanded. Noctowl slowed down significantly and, up close, fired off red rings from his eyes, quickly putting Hawlucha to sleep.

"Hawlucha! Wake up!" Ian shouted instinctively.

"Now, our finishing move!" Niko shouted. "Dream eater!"

Noctowl closed his eyes and, with his psychic powers, searched for Hawlucha's mind. Finding it, the Owl Pokémon quickly corrupted the dreams, causing the Wrestling Pokémon to twitch and spasm about wildly before fainting.

"Hawlucha is unable to battle, Noctowl is the winner!" the referee declared. "Ian will now use his third Pokémon!"

"Hawlucha, return," Ian said. "You got me, Niko. But I think I can corner you here. Bastiodon, I choose you!"

"Ah, Bastiodon. I remember this," Niko said with a smirk. "The same day I got my Rampardos. Noctowl, use zen headbutt!"

"Bastiodon, iron head!" Ian commanded. The Shield Pokémon stood completely still, although its head lit up in light gray sparks as it awaited its opponent. Noctowl, calm as ever, collided with his opponent before bouncing off, as if nothing ever hit it, and crashed onto the ground. "Now, flash cannon!"

Bastiodon fired off a gray, concentrated beam of energy at Noctowl, who quickly got back up into the air and flew off, shaking his head from the damage clearly done to him. Niko noticed this and, after thinking it through, decided to recall Noctowl.

"Return," Niko said aloud, holding out Noctowl's pokéball. "You've done really well, buddy. But Bastiodon's head is too strong. I think we can beat it through other means. Numel, I choose you!"

Ian nodded. "Bastiodon, use bulldoze!" Bastiodon stomped on the ground, creating a shock wave that moved under the battlefield before erupting under Numel, launching the Numb Pokémon into the air. "Now, flash cannon!"

"Numel, block it with flamethrower!" Niko shouted. Numel crashed back on the ground, trying not to let the damage he took from bulldoze get to him, and fired off a stream of flames to meet Bastiodon's attack. "Now, earth power!"

"Metal sound!" Ian commanded. Bastiodon released a screeching, ear-piercing sound that forced Niko to shut his ears and Numel to wail out from the sound. Numel tried firing off a flamethrower, but missed due to his inability to properly concentrate. "Now, bulldoze!"

"Numel, block it with magnitude!" Niko shouted. Both attacks shook the ground underneath them, with Numel's magnitude nearly reaching full power to match—and exceed—that of bulldoze. "Now, earth power!"

"Bastiodon, flash cannon!" Ian commanded, thrusting his hand out. Bastiodon once more fired off a powerful, steady beam of light energy at Numel, who countered with flamethrower before using magnitude again in an attempt to force Bastiodon to stumble. "Bulldoze again!"

"Nope!" Niko shouted. "Magnitude, full power!"

Numel roared out as the ground viciously shook underneath him. This is the Pokémon Niko remembered battling with. This was his first fire type—and one of his strongest Pokémon in the Hoenn region. Bastiodon roared out as he tried to maintain balance before falling to the side in defeat.

"Bastiodon is unable to battle, Numel is the winner!" the referee declared. Niko looked up at the scoreboard—he had all six of his Pokémon still—and Ian only had three left. So far, so good.

"Niko is killing it right now!" JJ said excitedly, "Right, Brittany?"

"Yeah. Kinda thought Ian was stronger."

"Oh, he is," Charlotte said, "he hasn't brought out his strongest yet."

"That's true," Brittany added, "Garchomp is his ace."

"Goodra, I choose you!" Ian shouted, summoning an odd-looking Pokémon. It was a pudgy bipedal Pokémon coated and dripping with goo. It had bright green eyes, and two green spots on either side of its face and three on either side of its thick tail which curls inward. It had two sets of antennae atop its head. The front pair of antennae were short, skinny and stood upright, while the back pair were long and thick, drooping downward behind its head and curling upward toward their tapering ends.

"Goodra, the Dragon Pokémon. Dragon type. This very friendly Dragon-type Pokémon will hug its beloved trainer, leaving that trainer covered in sticky slime," Charlotte's pokédex read.

"Yuck…" JJ muttered.

"Dragon pulse!" Ian commanded. Goodra opened its mouth, roared out, and fired off a powerful, purple-colored pulse of energy at Numel, who attempted to block it with flamethrower, but failed, and took the hit. "Now, aqua tail!"

"Numel, earth power!" Niko shouted. Numel stomped on the ground, forcing a golden crack to appear. The crack extended until it got to Goodra's position and erupted. Unfortunately for the Numb Pokémon, Goodra managed to barely escape the explosion that was now behind it, and slammed its blue, water-coated tail into Numel's face, knocking it backwards. "Magnitude!"

"NUMEL!" Numel shouted, shaking the ground as aggressively as he could, hoping to knock Goodra off of its feet. The Dragon Pokémon, however, was unusually balanced, and struck Numel a second time with aqua tail, knocking Numel to the ground.

"Don't give up buddy, we can do this!" Niko urged his fire type. "We never give up! Use earth power!"

"Goodra, dragon pulse!" Ian commanded and, up close, Goodra pelted Numel with a wave of draconic energy. When it was finished, Numel lay there, unable to move.

"Numel is unable to battle, Goodra is the winner!" the referee declared. "Niko will now use his next Pokémon!"

"Numel, return," Niko said. "You did your best, buddy. That's all I can ask for. Rampardos, you're up!"

"Damn, would've been cool for our fossil Pokémon to face off. I remember seeing Rampardos in action back in Sinnoh," Ian said with a smirk. "I look forward to fighting this. Goodra, dragon pulse!"

"Head smash!" Niko shouted, figuring that that move was the only one strong enough to bust through a dragon pulse. He was right—Rampardos managed to hit Goodra directly in the stomach, knocking the Dragon Pokémon backwards and stumbling towards the ground. "Now, ancientpower!"

"Repel them with aqua tail!" Ian commanded. Something in his tone suggested more confidence now, Niko noticed. It's like he knew exactly what he was doing. Like he had some sort of master plan to win this battle. Goodra, skillfully, blocked most of the ancient rocks being hurled at it. "Now, dragon pulse again!"

"Rampardos, zen headbutt!" Niko commanded. One head smash would be fine. Niko wasn't too confident about a second one, considering Rampardos took damage from the move. Nevertheless, the Headbutt Pokémon charged forward, calming himself down before striking at Goodra. However, he never made it—Rampardos got repelled backwards from the dragon pulse and crashed into the ground.

"Aqua tail!" Ian shouted. Goodra ran down the field and, with a quick swipe of his tail, slammed Rampardos with a gush of water as he was getting back up again, only to knock him down a second time. "Finish it off with dragon pulse!"

"Rampardos, flamethrower!" Niko shouted. Both attacks fired off, leaving Goodra with a burn and Rampardos with a defeat. The Headbutt Pokémon collapsed on his back, unable to battle.

"Rampardos is unable to battle, Goodra is the winner!" the referee declared. "Niko will now use his next Pokémon!"

"Wow…" Warren said. "That Goodra is something. Doesn't it evolve from the 'weakest dragon type' too?"

Charlotte nodded. "I remember its pokédex entry saying something like that. Niko can beat it, though. He still has Venusaur."

"Rampardos, return. You did great, buddy. We'll try harder next time. Druddigon, I choose you!"

"Oh? That's your dragon type?"

"Yeah. I planned on saving him for later, but I think he's ready. Right, buddy?" Niko asked the Cave Pokémon, who turned and nodded eagerly. "Then let's get started. Druddigon, use dragon claw!"

"Goodra, dragon pulse!" Ian commanded. The Dragon Pokémon fired off a powerful blast of energy at Druddigon, who dodged by jumping to the side and over the waterfall before flanking Goodra's right. "Dragon pulse again!"

"Switch to dragon tail and block it!" Niko shouted. The Cave Pokémon's tail lit up in a bright green glow as he spun around and used the attack to repel Goodra's and hit it directly in the stomach, knocking Goodra backwards slightly. "Now, dragon claw!"

"Outrage!" Ian commanded. Goodra's eyes began to glow and its body became outlined in a red aura. It then, in an obvious fit of rage, rushed at Druddigon and started punching and kicking the Cave Pokémon, who blocked each attack with dragon claw.

"Night slash!" Niko commanded. Druddigon backed out of the way for a moment before charging forward and slashing Goodra as its outrage began to subside. "Now, dragon claw!" Druddigon obeyed, upper cutting the Dragon Pokémon and briefly launching it into the air. "Dragon tail again!"

"Goodra, dragon pulse!" Ian shouted. Goodra fired off the attack but, in its state of confusion, the attack missed, and Goodra descended into Druddigon's dragon tail, launching it into the waterfall to the side of the field. Goodra didn't get back up.

"Goodra is unable to battle, Druddigon is the winner!" the referee declared. "Ian will now use his fifth Pokémon!"

"Goodra, return," Ian said.

"Druddigon, return as well. Save your energy."

"Oh? You have some sort of strategy, Niko?" Ian asked. "Well done, then. Barbaracle, I choose you!"

The Pokémon Ian sent out looked far more bizarre than Goodra did. Its body consisted of two gray rocks connected by an orange, segmented waist. Two Binacle multiplied into seven, giving Barbaracle two legs, four arms and one head. The arm and leg Binacle were orange with a single brown stripe, as opposed to a white one, and had brown "hands" with three claws each. The four arms had a single eye in each palm. In place of an eye, each foot has an orange four-pointed star-shape. The head, which resembled a left fist, had two eyes, four clawed fingers on top and a fifth clawed "thumb" on its right cheek.

"Barbaracle, the Collective Pokémon. Rock and water type. When they evolve, two Binacle multiply into seven. They fight with the power of seven Binacle," Charlotte's pokédex read.

"Prinplup, you're up!" Niko shouted.

"Wait…" Warren said. "Why doesn't he just use Venusaur?"

"Haven't you noticed how Niko likes to give all of his Pokémon a chance?" Brittany replied.

"Right, I forgot."

"Plus, that Prinplup is pretty strong," JJ said as he sat back, munching on popcorn.

"Prinplup, eh? This'll be fun," Ian said. "Barbaracle, use cross chop!"

"Prinplup, go in with metal claw!" Niko commanded. The two Pokémon collided in the middle of the field and immediately blocked one another's attack before trying a second time, with the same attacks, and once more parrying one another's blows. They continued with this for some time, neither giving any ground. It had been clear to Niko that, ever since defeating Hunter a year previous, Prinplup hasn't stopped training. The Penguin Pokémon still had the same determination and fury to continue battling that he did when Niko first caught him.

"Barbaracle, use night slash!"

"Block it with water pulse!" Niko shouted. Prinplup took a step back, conjured a water pulse, and fired it upwards at an angle, striking Barbaracle directly in the face and caused it to stumble backwards a little. "Now, go in and use metal claw!"

"Night slash!"

"Blow it back with hydro pump!" Niko shouted again. Prinplup opened his mouth and fired off a high-pressured water attack at Barbaracle, once more causing it to stumble. "Now, metal claw again!"

"Cross chop!"

Once more, both Pokémon took several hits, neither giving any ground. Ian then commanded Barbaracle use stone edge and, with a simple stomp of its foot, pointed rocks erupted out of the ground, immediately striking Prinplup and launching him into the air.

"Night slash!" Ian shouted. Barbaracle jumped into the air and, its two left hands glowing brightly, slashed at Prinplup, rocketing him back into the ground. Prinplup barely managed to get back up to block a quick cross chop from Barbaracle.

"Hydro pump!"

"Stone edge!" Ian said. Prinplup, seeming to anticipate this, leapt to the side and fired off a hydro pump at Barbaracle before going in with a metal claw, to which Barbaracle responded with yet another cross chop. "Don't give in!"

"Prinplup, you got this!" Niko shouted. Surprisingly, both Pokémon managed to continue in close combat before, after nearly a minute of struggling to gain the upper hand, they both collapsed from exhaustion.

"It looks like Prinplup and Barbaracle are both unable to battle!" the referee declared. "Niko and Ian will now send out their final Pokémon! For Ian, this will be his sixth and final one."

"Niko certainly has the upper hand here," Warren commented. "But isn't Ian's Garchomp like, super strong?"

"It definitely is. At least, I'm sure it is now," Brittany said with a shrug.

"Garchomp, I choose you!" Ian said expectedly.

"Noctowl, you're up" Niko commanded. "Use hypnosis!"

"Garchomp, dragon rush!" Ian shouted. The Mach Pokémon, being faster, hit Noctowl with the full force of its body, launching the Owl Pokémon into the tunnel behind Niko.

"Noctowl!" Niko shouted. Noctowl slowly, but surely, got right back up. "Phew. Use steel wing!"

"Dragon claw!" Ian directed. Garchomp's claws began to glow a bright green color as it charged down towards Noctowl and easily stopped the Owl Pokémon's onslaught. "Dragon rush!"

Garchomp, still holding onto Noctowl's wings, threw him down and jumped into the air before quickly diving down, again with full force. Noctowl let out a loud cry before, after the dust from the attack settled, he was defeated.

"Noctowl is unable to battle, Garchomp is the winner!" the referee declared.

"Noctowl, return. You still did great, buddy. For that, I'm proud of you. Druddigon, you're up! Use dragon claw!"

"Dragon claw as well!" Ian commanded. Garchomp charged forward and leaned down to strike Druddigon, who swiftly dodged and slashed upwards to uppercut the Mach Pokémon, but failed. "Dragon rush!"

Druddigon was dragged across the battlefield towards the waterfall and thrown into the pond underneath it while Garchomp swooped back into the air and landed several feet away. Druddigon slowly found his way out of the pond, already exhausted. This Garchomp was something else, and Niko had little idea how to overcome it.

"Druddigon, use night slash!" Niko shouted.

"Draco meteor!" Ian directed. Garchomp's body began to glow bright orange as it fired off an orange, pulsating ball of energy into the air. The ball exploded as Druddigon made contact, firing off small meteors towards the ground. Garchomp then grabbed the Cave Pokémon by the arm and spun him around before launching him into one of the meteors, knocking him to the ground.

"Druddigon!" Niko shouted. Once the attack finished, Druddigon slowly got back up—he had survived the attack.

"Well then," Ian said, grabbing something in his pocket. "If draco meteor didn't do anything, then this will," he pulled out a Key Stone that immediately began lighting up in reaction to the mega stone hidden behind Garchomp's right horn. "Garchomp! Unleash the true power of dragons! Mega evolve!"

Garchomp became enveloped in a bright light, gathered by connecting streams of energy emitting from the Key Stone and the Garchompite. It grew in size and several of its features became more angular, including its head and shoulders. A row of five tooth-like spikes sprouted from each side of its abdomen, and red spikes grew from its knees. The claws and fins on its arms melted from the excessive mega evolution energy and morphed together to form sharp, red blades.

"Dragon rush!" Ian commanded, thrusting a hand outwards. Garchomp, now blindingly fast, charged forward and struck Druddigon with the full force of its body. Druddigon flew back almost equally as fast, hitting the side of the tunnel behind Niko and collapsing in defeat.

"Druddigon is unable to battle, Garchomp is the winner! Niko will now use his final Pokémon!"

Charlotte, seeing this, slightly smirked.

"Druddigon, return. You did great, buddy. Really, you did," Niko looked up at Ian and his Mega Garchomp as he pulled out his last pokéball—and his first. "Venusaur, I choose you!"

"Alright, this'll be fun," Ian said. "Oh? A mega stone?" he said, eying the scarf. "Are we evening out this match or what?"

"Venusaur…" Niko said calmly. "I—I know you're reluctant to do this, and you have every right to be. But if our goal is to be the best in the world—for me to become a Pokémon Master—we need to take this step, and we need to take it together. Our bond as Pokémon and trainer is the strongest, and we can do it, but only if you will it so. You can't give up.

"Especially not you. You've never given up. In fact, you taught me how to never give up. Back in the Indigo League, when I didn't think I could compete, you helped me out. When I lost to Fay, you helped me out. You were there when I lost to Elliot, and then when I beat him, it was because you defeated an opponent we had never faced before. You were the first Pokémon that I know who defeated a mega-evolved Pokémon. When I left for Unova, you didn't give up on me. You never have. So please, don't give up on yourself. Because I will never give up on you."

Venusaur turned to look Niko in the eye. That's when Niko ran onto the field, slid onto his knees, and placed his forehead to Venusaur's. That's when Niko knew they were ready.

"Venusaur…let's win this," Niko said, and felt the Key Stone lighting up entirely on its own. The Venusaurite reacted to it, enveloping the both of them and transforming Venusaur into his mega-evolved state, where he was much larger, and his flower was taller. He also developed small markings under the pink flower on his forehead. Niko returned to his side of the field, both fists balled up.

"He did it!" Warren shouted excitedly.

"We did…" Charlotte said quietly. "I knew he could."

"Well done, Niko," Fay muttered.

"Garchomp, dragon rush!" Ian shouted.

Suddenly, Niko felt an image run through his mind. Venusaur was trying to tell him something. What is this? He thought. With so many questions, he shoved them all aside and issued a command. "Venusaur, jump!"

"What?" Ian shouted.

"Huh!?" Warren and the others said.

Mega Venusaur leapt into the air, dodging Mega Garchomp. "Now, petal blizzard!"

Just as Garchomp was underneath, Venusaur fired off a tornado of pin petals downwards, engulfing the Mach Pokémon. Mega Venusaur then landed and, on Niko's command, used solarbeam to strike Mega Garchomp in the side, knocking it to the ground.

"What is happening?" JJ said. "Venusaur is kicking ass."

"You expected anything less?" Brittany wondered. JJ, realizing this, shook his head. "That's what I thought," to this, Fay silently laughed.

"Garchomp, don't get caught off guard!" Ian shouted. "Use draco meteor!"

"Venusaur, petal blizzard again!" Niko directed. He had a way of blocking draco meteor now. Nevertheless, the petals missed Mega Garchomp, who managed to get out of the way as it fired off an orange ball into the sky. Once again, it exploded into dozens of smaller meteors, all aiming to strike the entire battlefield. "Now, frenzy plant! Block the draco meteor!"

"Not so fast!" Ian shouted. "Garchomp, dragon rush!"

Mega Garchomp shot off towards Mega Venusaur, crashing into him with its full force just as the spiked roots erupted out of the ground, flailing about to hit the meteors, all protecting Mega Venusaur from them. Venusaur winced slightly from the attack—he wasn't about to give in or show signs of weakness.

"Garchomp, dragon claw!" Ian commanded.

"Stun spore!" Niko commanded. Just as Garchomp slammed down two, glowing green scythes, yellow powder emitted from under Mega Venusaur's flower, striking Mega Garchomp and causing it to stumble backwards, paralyzed. "Now, solarbeam!"

"Garchomp, move!" Ian shouted. Mega Garchomp had difficulty doing this, and was stricken by the solarbeam which launched it across the field.

"Venusaur!" Niko shouted, feeling energy rapidly flowing through him. "Let's win this! Defeat Mega Garchomp and Ian! Use frenzy plant!"

"VEEE-NUSSS!" Mega Venusaur shouted, summoning roughly a dozen roots from under the ground and forcing them all at the paralyzed Mega Garchomp, knocking it around its end of the battlefield before it collapsed onto its knees, facing Mega Venusaur.

"More power!" Niko shouted. "Use petal blizzard!"

"Garchomp!" Ian cried out. Suddenly, just before Mega Venusaur was to use the attack, Garchomp collapsed onto the ground, reverting to its prior form, in defeat.

"Garchomp is unable to battle, Venusaur is the winner!" the referee declared. "The victory goes to Niko from Pallet Town!"

Niko felt a sudden loss of energy as he too fell to his knees, his hands pressing against the ground to stop him from falling flat on his face. Venusaur, reverting back to his prior form, also collapsed from exhaustion.

He was breathing hard. He felt like he could faint in that moment. His vision was blurry, and he felt dizzy. He tried getting back up again, but elected to simply sit there.

"What's going on with him?" Warren asked upon seeing Niko simply sitting there. "Is he alright?"

Charlotte, turning to Warren and Jake, immediately got up, and was followed by the other two. They found Niko still sitting there on the battlefield, mere feet from a similarly tired Venusaur. "Niko! Are you okay?" Charlotte asked as she sat down next to him.

"Yeah…" he said with a smirk. "Just really tired."

"Well, you need to snap out of it, buddy, because you've got another battle coming up today!" Warren said.

"Right…right…" Niko said and, with the help of Charlotte and Jake, stood back up. Charlotte grabbed Venusaur's pokéball and walked up to him.

"Thanks, Venusaur. And…congrats," she said. The Seed Pokémon nodded with his eyes still closed.

* * *

"Aaand we now have our final four trainers!" President Goodshow announced at the end of the fourth quarterfinal battle. "Oliver, Niko, Simone, and…Wally!"

Niko perked up. Wally made it!

"So, let's see who'll have to battle who in the semifinal round, which will begin in two hours' time!" Goodshow said. All eyes turned to the monitor or, in Niko's case, the television, as he was sitting in his bed resting. Two pairs of trainer profiles then appeared, and Niko found himself unsurprised.

Wally was his next opponent.

"Looks like you get a chance to face another rival," Warren said.

"It'll be a rematch of your Ever Grande battle, too," Jake said, fondly remembering the battle.

"And I couldn't be more excited," Niko said. "I need to get ready for that. Can I meet you all down in the dining hall in a bit? I'm sort of hungry."

"Sure! We'll get you something," Charlotte said with a kind smile as she, Warren, Jake, Brittany, and JJ all left the room, leaving Niko alone. He did two—no, three things with his free time then. First, he grabbed six Pokémon that he thought might be able to take on Wally. He would send them out in a moment—outside, of course—to tell them about their next opponent. Secondly, he grabbed the Aggronite. If Venusaur could mega evolve, he was going to attempt the same with Aggron, hoping for success.

Lastly, he grabbed Venusaur's pokéball, not for the intention of using it, though. Then, he raced out of his suite, the building, and into the park nearby, immediately sending out Venusaur's pokéball.

"Hey, buddy," Niko said, kneeling down. "Feeling any better?"

"Venus…saur," Venusaur said, still exhausted.

"I get that. I am too, but I have another battle soon. Against Wally, actually. If I beat him, then we're going to the finals again. So, save up your energy, since I want you there with me if I have a chance to win the Kalos League, alright?"

Venusaur nodded.

"Thanks, by the way. I don't know how you got that scarf on by yourself, but it saved us in that match. Ian would've beaten us if you didn't mega evolve and, hey! We were able to control it, right? Well, sort of."

Venusaur let out a low chuckle.

"But we'll get better at controlling it, and figure out why we get so tired from it when no one else seems to. But for now, you've earned the rest, buddy. Thank you."

Venusaur nodded, and lightly touched Niko's forehead with his own before the latter returned him to his pokéball.

* * *

"How was Niko about to make Venusaur jump like that?" Warren asked. "Is Venusaur capable of doing that?"

"Technically, yes," Fay said. "But it's very difficult to do, obviously, since Venusaur is a pretty heavy Pokémon. Mega Venusaur looked even heavier."

"I've heard reports of ninjas training their Venusaur to jump as a way of evasion, but their techniques are, well, smoother," JJ added, "They're guided more by the elements, I think."

"With Niko's Venusaur, it was like he's known that it could his entire life," Jake added. "I've seen Venusaur train. It definitely could not do that before. It's actually one of Niko's most sedentary Pokémon, and when it battles it usually doesn't move much."

"Did it know petal blizzard?" Charlotte asked. Jake responded with a shake of his head.

"No, that's also completely new to me. Maybe he learned it while I was gone but, I checked with our mom and she doesn't recall seeing that either. It could have learned the move upon mega evolution, but is that possible?"

All of them shrugged. They were all equally clueless, as only one of them had successfully achieved mega evolution outside of Niko. Mysteries abound, they waited for their friend to join them in preparation for his next match.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Finally they mega evolved! Now the opponent is Wally, and Niko's thinking of giving mega evolution another try. Will it go well for him, despite it being a different Pokemon? Find out in the next episode!**


	49. Friends until the end

**Episode 49: Friends until the end**

"Alright!" Niko said, sending out six Pokémon. "We've made it to the semifinals!" his Pokémon, all assembled for their next battle, cheered. Chesnaught, Braviary, Aggron, Sceptile, Clawitzer, and Lampent. "I want you six to help me in the next battle. It's against Wally," he looked at Sceptile, who noticeably grinned. As did Aggron. "Also…" he said, pulling out the Aggronite, which was now attached to a wristband that Niko, Charlotte, and Warren worked on together with some spare time the previous night, "I want to try mega evolution with you, Aggron."

The Iron Armor Pokémon nodded, sensing the determination in his trainer.

"It'll be hard. I just did it with Venusaur. It was…exhausting. But to win we'll need to do it again. And I want you to experience mega evolution, Aggron. You deserve it, and you can do it."

Aggron, understanding the weight of his responsibility, nodded again. Niko smirked. "Wally will be a tough opponent. Sceptile and Aggron know how difficult he is to fight. His Gallade is…something else. But we've been training harder—you all have been training harder. You can win this. Anyway, we need to get going now. Get ready."

The Pokémon cheered, excited for the prospect of battling again. Niko returned five of them, leaving Aggron alone.

"I mean it when I say this'll be difficult, alright?" Niko cautioned. Aggron looked at him and nodded, understanding perfectly. "You will have a sudden rush of power and energy, and it'll be on you to control it. I can't control it, I only feel it. Aggron…I trust you to do this. I think you can. If you agree, then we can do this."

He then held out his hand, and Aggron's claw reached out to meet his. They shook, and Niko felt a connection with the steel type that he hadn't felt before.

"Niko," a familiar voice said. Niko turned around to see Oliver.

"Oh, hey Oliver!" Niko replied, turning to see his black-afroed rival standing there in a white t-shirt and fitted jeans. "You ready for your battle today?"

"Yes, I think I can win, which is why I stopped by to talk to you," Oliver said as he slowly approached Niko. When he was just a few feet away, he stared Niko down. They were roughly the same height. "I want you to win today."

"Oh, I fully intend to," Niko said.

"That's good. I know you're good friends with this Wally guy. He seems like a good kid."

"He really is. Our rivalry goes back a few years, actually," Niko said, scratching his head. "Oh, by the way, this is my Aggron that I caught in Hoenn."

"Hi, Aggron," Oliver said, noticing the wristband holding Aggron's mega stone. "So…you have two Pokémon that can mega evolve now?"

"Looks like it. We're gonna try it again today."

"Congrats on using it against that other guy. Ian—right?" Niko nodded. "I sensed the power your Venusaur has. You must be very close."

"We are. I try to be with all of my Pokémon," Niko looked at Aggron, "but I'm of the belief that a trainer always has a unique bond with their very first Pokémon. Or, at least, they should."

"That makes perfect sense. Niko…" Oliver said, his ordinarily monotonous tone now sterner, "I want you to win so that we can face off in the finals. I want to battle you again. At your best. Not just the Pokémon you caught in Kalos—they're plenty strong, but I want you to go all out if we battle."

"Really?" Niko asked curiously. He barely knew Oliver and, while he wouldn't back down from a challenge from a rival of his, was shocked by the seriousness Oliver was emitting. "May I ask why?"

"I want to be the best trainer that I possibly can be," Oliver said, looking off towards a group of people making their way into the stadium. "The only way I can achieve that is by testing myself and my Pokémon against the best. You're the strongest trainer that I know, Niko. Even though I've beaten you on occasion—"

"—every time," Niko corrected.

"Doesn't matter. I recognize you have talent. An unusual amount of it. You've seen more of the world, you have more experience battling. And the bond you share with Pokémon like your Venusaur, and your Aggron—I want to face that, and I want to win against that."

"Of course. I couldn't agree more."

"You've also made it to the finals before, right? You know what it's like. That's when you're at your best—when the stakes are the highest."

"Right, I getcha," Niko said. He knew little about Oliver, but his ambition was much too obvious.

"Sorry if I'm exaggerating. You see Niko, I lost my brother at a young age. He was seven years older than me, and he was also a trainer. He wanted to go to the World Tournament and challenge the World Champion. He wanted to see the world, meet every Pokémon. Essentially, he told me that that was how he could become a Pokémon Master. That's how the current World Champion got there—by doing that.

"Well, he passed away while on his travels, and that's why I come off as so driven—because I am. My Charizard—the one you met as a Charmander—is the offspring of his Charizard, who is still with my—our—parents. I want to finish what my brother started, Niko. And after seeing your potential, I knew that by defeating you, it would get me closer to achieving his goal, and now mine. So that's why I want you to win today against Wally—I want to see you at your absolute strongest. You are an inspiration to me," he held out his hand. "So…good luck."

Niko took it and firmly shook Oliver's hand. For a moment, he felt a connection as well. Not the same as with Aggron, but he felt the energy, the passion, the ambition through Oliver's hand mixing with his.

"I promise you, Oliver. I will win, and we will battle in the finals tomorrow. I won't hold back. It'll be a battle for the ages."

Oliver smirked. "I look forward to it."

* * *

"And now, we have the final four participants in the Lumiose Conference!" President Goodshow announced to a now rowdy stadium of people, all cheering for the two trainers standing on a brick-lain battlefield. "We will start with the first of two semifinal battles! The first is between Niko from Pallet Town and Wally from Petalburg City!"

Niko and Wally took separate ends of the field, the latter staring down the former. It took Niko a back at first—usually Wally was friendly and kind. Here, in that moment, he looked determined. He looked like he was ready to go all out to win. He looked like a completely different person.

The referee explained the rules, noting that there would be a break once three Pokémon are defeated on one trainer's side, after which the battlefield will change: a feature exclusive to semifinal and final battles only. Then, he allowed both trainers to begin.

"Heliolisk, I choose you!" Wally commanded.

"Chesnaught, you're up!" Niko shouted, summoning the Spiny Armor Pokémon. "Start off with rollout!"

"Heliolisk, use thunderbolt!" Wally commanded. The Generator Pokémon expanded its frills to fire off electricity from the sky, raining down on Chesnaught, who was dodging and evading each bolt of thunder skillfully, eventually striking Heliolisk and dragging it across the battlefield. "Parabolic charge!"

"Spiky shield" Niko commanded. Chesnaught broke out of the ball he was in and crouched low, using the shell on his back as protection before taking the hit. "Now, seed bomb!"

"Block it with thunderbolt!" Wally said, thrusting his out authoritatively. Heliolisk released more electricity, blocking the seed bomb from completing its journey towards its target. Chesnaught, on Niko's command, charged forward to use needle arm, which Heliolisk dodged and used focus blast, knocking Chesnaught backwards and onto his back. "Now, parabolic charge!"

"Spiky shield again!" Niko commanded. Chesnaught rolled around onto its knees, facing away from Heliolisk as he blocked the attack a second time. Now, seed bomb!"

"Heliolisk, dodge and use wild charge!" Wally commanded. Heliolisk burst down the field, phasing in an out of the seed bombs before crashing into Chesnaught, who was caught off guard by the Generator Pokémon's speed. "Now, focus blast!"

"Needle arm!" Niko commanded. Before Heliolisk could fire off the orb of energy at Chesnaught, it was slammed on top of the head by the Spiny Armor Pokémon's fist, knocking it into the ground. "Now, seed bomb!"

Heliolisk, pelted mercilessly with glowing green seeds that exploded on contact, fell onto its back in defeat.

"Heliolisk is unable to battle, Chesnaught is the winner! Wally will now used his second Pokémon!" the referee declared.

"Heliolisk, return," Wally said, looking up at Niko, still with a resolute expression. "Roserade, I choose you!"

"Chesnaught, wanna keep going?" Niko asked. Chesnaught turned and nodded, as if it weren't even a question. "Great! Use rollout!"

"Shadow ball!" Wally commanded. Roserade put both of its bouquets together and fired off an inky black spectral orb at Chesnaught, who took the hit and continued to roll onwards. "Now, poison jab!"

The Bouquet Pokémon's blue bouquet-hand thrusted forward, colliding with Chesnaught's rollout and launching the Spiny Armor Pokémon backwards. "Now, petal blizzard!"

"Chesnaught, get up!" Niko shouted. Chesnaught slowly got up, purple bubbles swirling around it. "He's poisoned…" Niko muttered. "Seed bomb!"

"Roserade, shadow ball!" Wally commanded. The Bouquet Pokémon fired off another spectral ball, bursting through the seed bombs and hitting Chesnaught, knocking him onto one knee. "Now, poison jab again!"

"Chesnaught, block it with spiky shield!" Niko commanded, but the Roserade was far too fast, slamming another bouquet into Chesnaught's side, causing the Spiny Armor Pokémon to collapse onto his side. As he fell, he fired off another seed bomb at Roserade, catching it by surprise and knocking it over as well.

"Chesnaught is unable to battle, Roserade is the winner!" the referee declared.

"Chesnaught, return. You did great buddy, please rest," Niko said, exchanging pokéballs on his belt. "Braviary, I choose you!"

"Braviary, huh?" Wally said, looking up at the Valiant, eagle-like Pokémon. "I've heard those are strong, Niko! Can't wait to battle it!"

"You won't have to wait long, then. Braviary, use brave bird!"

"Roserade, leech seed!" Wally shouted. "And dodge!"

Roserade rolled out of the way, firing off a bright green seed on its way out. It landed, enveloping Braviary and causing it to crash. Roserade then started to glow a transparent green color, indicating it was healing up. Meanwhile, Braviary struggled to get out of the vines covering him, eventually using crush claw on Niko's command.

"Roserade, return," Wally said, substituting the Bouquet Pokémon. "Swoobat, I choose you!"

"Swoobat?" Niko said, wondering the last time he'd seen a Pokémon like that. "Alright, then! Braviary, aerial ace!"

"Swoobat, future sight!" Wally commanded. Electrified psychic objects shot through wormholes above the Courting Pokémon, just as Braviary crashed into it, launching it into the brick-lain battlefield. "Now, calm mind!"

"Braviary, brave bird!" Niko shouted, thrusting both arms out and backwards, as if he were trying to gain speed to descend to the ground. Braviary did so, tucking in his wings and launching downwards like a rocket towards Swoobat, who was clearly trying to focus itself.

"Psychic!" Wally commanded. Swoobat opened its now-glowing eyes and launched Braviary off the side of the battlefield. The Valiant Pokémon regained orientation of his body and shot towards Swoobat on Niko's command, using aerial ace this time and knocking the Courting Pokémon into the ground. "Now, air slash!"

"Braviary, dodge and use aerial ace!" Niko commanded. Braviary barrel-rolled out of the way and charged towards Swoobat, white tendrils streaming from his beak. He managed to crash into Swoobat, knocking the Courting Pokémon out of the air once more and forcing it to crash into the ground. "Now, finish it off with crush claw!" Niko shouted, slowly balling up a fist as if his fingers were individual claws. Braviary's talons burst a bright blue color as he descended towards Swoobat.

Just as he successfully used the attack, however, the electrified psychic objects erupted out of the wormholes above and crashed into Braviary and Swoobat, rocketing the Valiant Pokémon across the battlefield before he too crashed into the ground, rolling over onto his chest.

"Braviary!" Niko shouted. As was his personality, Braviary got back up, albeit slowly, and stood to his full height while Swoobat continued to rest there.

"Swoobat is unable to battle, Braviary is the winner! Wally will now use his third Pokémon!" the referee declared.

"Swoobat, return," Wally said, now exchanging pokéballs. "Florges, I choose you!"

"Braviary, let's keep going! Use hone claws!"

"Moonblast!" Wally commanded. Braviary dodged the pink orb hurdling towards him at the last moment before going in for aerial ace. "Now, magical leaf!"

Purple leaves emitted from Florges' body as she struck the Valiant Pokémon mid-attack, causing him to crash into the Garden Pokémon, knocking them both over.

"Aerial ace!"

"Moonblast!"

Braviary got back up and, as he was about to crash back into Florges, he took a moonblast to the chest and was launched backwards, rocketing high into the air before crashing on his back, unable to move.

"Braviary is unable to battle, Florges is the winner!" the referee declared. "Niko will now send out his third Pokémon!"

"Braviary, you did excellent," Niko said, looking down at the pokéball in his hands. "Thanks again, buddy. Now, Aggron, I choose you!" he shouted, summoning the Iron Armor Pokémon with the special wristband attached.

"Woah, is he gonna…?" Warren wondered aloud.

"Yeah, think so," Jake said, leaning forward and resting his chin in one of his palms.

Niko closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He felt his Key Stone on the pendant resting against his chest. It was warm. Aggron turned to looked at Niko, curious as to their plans. Niko, in response, opened his eyes and nodded.

"Aggron, let's give this a try!" Niko shouted, not even having to grab his pendant. "Aggron, mega evolve!"

He felt a rush of energy surging through his veins, as if he was the one evolving. Instead, it was Aggron, who grew in size. He was not only taller, but bulkier as well. The horns on his forehead were shorter, and he had a third, wider horn on his nose. A spike projected downward from both his upper and lower jaw. The protrusions on his shoulders were longer and curved toward his head, and new spikes thrusted from holes in his armbands. His tail was thicker with two bands around it.

Niko felt his heart pounding in his chest. It was a feeling similar to when he and Venusaur mega evolved earlier that day, only a few short hours previous. He began to breathe heavier, the pendant feeling like a deadweight around his neck. But he couldn't take it off. He knew, somehow, that he couldn't.

Wally noticed this too and, for the first time during their battle, registered a look of genuine concern. He nevertheless continued, commanding Florges to use magical leaf, which Mega Aggron took, not even having to move.

What's going on? Niko thought to himself. Why do I feel so exhausted? He looked up at Mega Aggron, who turned back and looked slightly concerned, although the heavy armor over his head would suggest otherwise. Aggron…

The Iron Armor Pokémon tilted his head to the side after taking another magical leaf, as if it was nothing.

Wait…Aggron…can you hear me?

It nodded.

What the hell…Niko thought. This was unique. He had only spoken to one Pokémon before—Reuniclus. And that was through images. However, it didn't seem like Aggron could speak back, but the connection was there, and it just so happened to be when Niko used his Key Stone. "Aggron, let's…do this! Use automotize!"

Mega Aggron nodded, turning back to take a third magical leaf in a row before as his body started to glow a transparent gray color as he lightened his body slightly.

"Now, iron head!" Niko commanded. Using the full force of his massive weight, Mega Aggron charged down the field, faster than Niko could have ever expected him to, and struck Florges in the head with his own, glowing iron head. Florges crashed onto the ground, slowly trying to get back up before Aggron whacked it in the side with iron tail. With each subsequent attack, Niko felt a sudden rush of energy, as if he could also feel Mega Aggron's heartbeat.

"Florges!" Wally shouted. The Garden Pokémon got back up, only to take another iron tail to the side, launching her to the side of the battlefield, where she crumbled in defeat. "FLORGES!"

"Florges is unable to battle! Aggron is the winner!" the referee declared. "The battlefield will now change! Trainers, please return your Pokémon!"

Niko and Wally both did, just as the battlefield underneath them disappeared, causing a new, forested one to appear. The forest was split in half by a pathway in the middle, similar to what Niko and his friends might see on their journeys. While this happened, Niko doubled over in exhaustion, as the energy he felt from Aggron's attacks was draining out of him.

"Is Niko alright?" Charlotte asked, now sitting forward as well. She turned to Daisy, who also looked concerned.

"It has to be related to mega evolution," Jake said, "since he only seems to look tired when he uses it."

"Which is odd, since I didn't," Charlotte said. Shaking her head, she instead focused back on the battle, which was just then resuming.

"Aggron, I choose you!" Niko shouted, summoning the Iron Armor Pokémon again.

"Simisear, you're up!" Wally said, summoning a primate Pokémon with red-orange fur and small tufts of hair on its head that resembled flames. "Use flame burst!"

"Aggron, dig!" Niko shouted. Despite the Iron Armor Pokémon's increased speed, it managed to get hit with the flame burst. However, Niko noticed, Aggron only felt slightly hurt by it, as he only felt slightly hurt by it. What the hell…that was a fire attack, right?

Mega Aggron dug into the forest ground and, meanwhile, Simisear leapt into the trees, waiting for its opponent to attack.

Realizing his newfound ability, Niko communicated this to Aggron, who burst out of the ground. "Use automotize!" Niko shouted. Aggron started to glow a transparent gray color again before charging at Simisear's tree with iron head. "And again, iron head!"

Mega Aggron continued this until Simisear finally fired off a flamethrower at Aggron, hitting him in the back of the head. Angrily, the Iron Armor Pokémon charged again, only for Simisear to disappear once more into the trees.

"Aggron, return," Niko finally said. "We need someone faster. Lampent, I choose you!" he said, sending out the Lamp Pokémon. "It's been a while, buddy. You ready to win?"

Lampent nodded cheerfully before noticing its opponent.

"Use hex!" Niko shouted. He figured he couldn't burn Simisear, and therefore hex would have little effect. Lampent moved around her two arms to conjure a purple and black orb of ghostly energy and fire it at Simisear, who evaded by the attack by jumping behind a tree. "Blast it! Lampent, follow Simisear!"

Niko had briefly considered burning down the forest, but figured some of his other Pokémon might appreciate using if for their own gain. Nevertheless, Lampent shot after Simisear, who moved through the trees quite fast, making it difficult for Lampent to catch up. Eventually, the Lamp Pokémon did, firing off a hex that hit Simisear in the back and knock it to the ground.

"Lampent, use inferno!" Niko commanded.

"Simisear, dodge and use crunch!" Wally commanded decisively, throwing out a hand to the side. Simisear evaded the powerful stream of fire and leapt off of a tree trunk to bite down on Lampent. The Ghost type spun out of the control, repelled by the attack. After reorienting herself, Lampent briefly looked at Niko for guidance.

"Lampent, use hex!" Niko commanded.

"Block it with flamethrower!" Wally shouted. The Ember Pokémon fired off a stream of fire to block the hex. However, just as it ended the attack, Lampent wasn't there. "Behind you!" Wally cried out.

"Grab onto it!" Niko said, mimicking a bear hug. Lampent did the same, grabbing onto Simisear. "Now, inferno!"

Lampent's body started to glow bright blue and, with as much remaining energy at possible, fired off a stream of bright blue flames at Simisear. Lampent then let go, allowing the Ember Pokémon to collapse onto the ground in defeat.

"Simisear is unable to battle, Lampent is the winner!" the referee declared. "Wally will use his next Pokémon!"

"Lampent, return," Niko said before knowing what Wally was about to send out.

"Simisear, return. Roserade, I choose you!" Wally shouted.

"Well, Lampent would have been nice," Niko muttered to himself, "but let's play it fair. Clawitzer, I choose you!"

"What is he doing?" Warren wondered. "He just had a fire type out!"

"Clawitzer can handle itself quite well, though," Charlotte added. "Better than most of Niko's Kalos Pokémon, I think."

Warren nodded, considering this. "Yeah, you're right. Go Clawitzer!"

"Dark pulse!" Niko commanded. Clawitzer's large blue claw shimmered a dark shade of blue before firing off a nexus of dark energy at Roserade, who dodged to use petal blizzard, where it summoned a torrent of pink leaves at its opponent. Both attacks hit in close range. "Now, dragon pulse!"

"Shadow ball!" Wally shouted. It was clear he was now getting fired up by the battle—he had two Pokémon left, and Niko had three. Technically, he was at a disadvantage overall. Roserade, loyal as ever, fired off a shadow ball before landing on the forest ground and firing off another before charging in to use poison jab. "Well done, Roserade! Let's go!"

"Clawitzer, into the air!" Niko shouted. Clawitzer leapt into the air using his large claw as a rocket, firing high up. "Now, dragon pulse!"

From high above Roserade, Clawitzer fired down a massive stream of draconic energy that struck the Bouquet Pokémon, bearing down upon her like a heavy weight. Clawitzer then descended to the ground and fired off a dark pulse that collided with Roserade's shadow ball. Both attacks hit and launched Clawitzer sideways towards a tree trunk, where he nearly broke the trunk with his large claw.

"Dark pulse!" Niko commanded. Clawitzer prepared another pulse attack while Roserade used petal blizzard to once again block it. Clawitzer safely landed on the ground and used dragon pulse once more with caught Roserade off guard and launched her into a tree where it nearly snapped the trunk and collapsed onto the ground near the roots. Roserade attempted to get back up but fell back down in defeat.

"Roserade is unable to battle, Clawitzer is the winner!" the referee declared. "Wally will now use his final Pokémon!"

"Wow…" Warren said in disbelief. "I had no idea that Clawitzer was this good."

"Then you definitely don't remember him defeating Korrina's Mega Lucario, right?" Charlotte said teasingly. Warren sat back, turning a little red.

"Gallade, I choose you!" Wally shouted, summoning the Blade Pokémon. "Use leaf blade!"

"Clawitzer, dragon pulse!" Niko commanded. The Howitzer Pokémon fired off a stream of draconic energy towards Gallade, who simply shifted out of the way, almost instantaneously, and struck Clawitzer with its left arm-blade, which was glowing bright green. Clawitzer was thrust backwards, crashing onto the forest floor in front of Niko. "Water pulse!"

"Gallade, strike it with psycho cut!" Wally commanded. Gallade, firing off purple blades of psychic energy, cleanly split up Clawitzer's water pulse before charging again to strike with leaf blade.

"Grab onto it!" Niko commanded. Clawitzer reached forward to clamp onto Gallade's left arm. "Now, dragon pulse!"

"Leaf blade with the other hand!" Wally commanded. Gallade slashed Clawitzer in the face with its other arm-blade, forcing the Howitzer Pokémon to let go and misfire dragon pulse. "Now, use close combat!"

"Clawitzer, block with water pulse!" Niko shouted, but it was too late. Gallade was punching and kicking the Howitzer Pokémon mercilessly. "Dragon pulse! Dark pulse! Clawitzer!"

"And now, for the finishing blow," Wally said, grabbing his Key Stone from a pendant around his neck. "Gallade, let's show them our legendary bond! Mega evolve!"

As expected, Gallade changed forms into one that Niko was already somewhat familiar with, having helped find his mega stone in Glittering Cave, near Ambrette Town.

"Gallade, leaf blade!" Wally commanded. Mega Gallade's arm-blades extended out powerfully before it struck Clawitzer, launching the water type into a nearby tree, breaking the tree, and nearly hitting another close one.

"Clawitzer is unable to battle, Gallade is the winner!" the referee shouted. "Niko will now use his next Pokémon!"

"Niko still has three Pokémon left," Warren said. "It's safe to say he can win this."

"It's definitely likely," JJ said, his curly blonde hair moving slightly in the light breeze.

"Aggron, you're up!" Niko shouted. Let's make this a battle between megas. "Use automotize!"

"Gallade, close combat!" Wally commanded. While Mega Aggron was attempting to speed himself up, Mega Gallade charged forward to relentlessly punch and kick the Iron Armor Pokémon. "Keep it up!"

"Aggron, iron head!" Niko shouted. Mega Aggron's head started to glow a bright gray as he smashed it downwards onto Mega Gallade's head, forcing the Blade Pokémon into the ground. "Now, iron tail!"

"Not happening again, Niko!" Wally shouted in an uncharacteristically stern tone. "Gallade, block it with leaf blade!"

Despite the power behind Mega Aggron's iron tail, Mega Gallade managed to block it and hold it in place before he somersaulted backwards and got back onto his feet. Wally then commanded him to use close combat again, to which Mega Aggron nearly dodged due to automotize, but failed to, and got beaten up mercilessly once more.

Meanwhile, Niko was feeling the effects of these attacks, almost as if they were light punches and kicks to the gut. Grabbing his stomach with one hand and wincing, he muttered commands that Mega Aggron seemed to understand perfectly fine. However, it was clear that Mega Gallade was the superior, and it managed to powerfully spin-kick Mega Aggron into a broken tree, where the Iron Armor Pokémon reverted back to his original form in defeat.

"Aggron is unable to battle, Gallade is the winner!" the referee declared.

Niko felt the weight of the world lift off of his shoulders as he let out an enormous breath of air, as if he had just resurfaced after being thrown into a pool. He got onto one knee as he returned Aggron, having to catch his breath for a moment.

Up in the stands, Oliver was watching with as much interest—and concern—as the rest of Niko's friends were in their seats, down near Niko's end of the field.

I hope he's alright…Charlotte thought to herself, why is mega evolution exhausting him every time?

Niko finally stood up after a few moments and held out his next pokéball. "I've wanted a rematch of this for a while. So has my Pokémon," Niko said, staring at Wally with a smirk. "Sceptile, I choose you!"

"Ah, Sceptile," Wally said with an eyebrow raised. "It's been a while since I've seen it. Gallade, use psycho cut!"

"Sceptile, block it with leaf storm!" Niko commanded. The Forest Pokémon spun around and fired off a torrent of bright green leaves from his long, dark green tail. The storm drowned out the psycho cuts, forcing Mega Gallade to retreat into the forest. "Follow it!"

Sceptile nodded, leaping in after his opponent. The two jumped from tree to tree until Mega Gallade spun around and fired off a psycho cut that rocketed Sceptile backwards and out onto the middle part of the field. Mega Gallade arrived soon thereafter, both arm-blades glowing a light green. Sceptile, taking this as a challenge, returned the attack with leaf blade as well. The two locked in battle for several minutes, striking and exchanging blows, neither giving in. Eventually they locked blades and stood there, neither willing to let go.

However, Niko soon discovered a way to end the stalemate. "Sceptile, use frenzy plant!"

Spiked roots erupted from the ground, flailing around wildly as one hit Mega Gallade away. Sceptile, taking the chance, fired off a leaf storm at his opponent, ramming him into another root that whacked Gallade in the back, forcing it to fall onto a single knee.

"Sceptile, go!" Niko shouted. The Forest Pokémon charged forward. Suddenly, his claws began to glow bright green, as if…as if Sceptile were using dragon claw. Where'd you learn that from?

"Gallade, psycho cut!" Wally commanded as a defensive measure. Sceptile slashed at each one before leaping into the air and slamming down both dragon claws on Mega Gallade before spinning around and smacking Mega Gallade in the side of the face, successfully forcing it to the ground.

"Now, finish him off with leaf blade!"

"No! Block it!" Wally shouted. An exhausted Mega Gallade forced up a green arm-blade that parried Sceptile's. "Psycho cut with the other!"

"Wally, we have the advantage. Sceptile, leaf storm!"

Sceptile let go of his stalemate with Mega Gallade to spin around and fire off a close-range leaf storm, dragging the Blade Pokémon backwards before it slowly got back up again. Mega Gallade then charged at Sceptile, who retaliated with frenzy plant, and cut through the roots in its way using psycho cut before landing a close combat, quickly subduing Sceptile and kicking it to the ground.

"Use psycho cut!" Wally commanded. Mega Gallade nodded, both arm-blades glowing purple with psychic energy.

"Dragon claw!" Niko commanded. Two large, green claws appeared in Sceptile's hands and blocked the psycho cut before using frenzy plant a third time, striking Mega Gallade and forcing him onto the ground. "Finish it off with leaf storm!"

"Gallade, block it with—" Wally said before Mega Gallade fell on its back, unable to continue battling as it reverted to its previous form.

"Gallade is unable to battle, Sceptile is the winner!" the referee declared. "The winner is Niko from Pallet Town!"

* * *

 **Author's Note: So, Niko's making it to the finals again! Who will his opponent be? Also, got to throw in a little backstory for Oliver which I felt might've been lacking earlier. I still think, regardless, this was a decent time to include it.**

 **Also, be prepared for a lot of episodes over the next couple of days. I have a lot to catch up on, as i've been busy with my job and just tired a lot. Just a head's up.**

 **Also also, this fanfiction has now exceeded a million words, as of this episode! Whee!**


	50. Niko's ultimate battle!

**Episode 50: Niko's ultimate battle!**

Niko ran onto the field to hug Sceptile, who did the same while Wally returned Gallade to his pokéball and, Niko noticed, turned and walked away.

"Wally…" he muttered. Sceptile, hearing this, also turned to see their defeated rival leave through the tunnel and the battlefield behind. He needed to talk to Wally, and soon.

First, though, he met up with his friends and family, all of whom were eager to greet him at the base of the tunnel. They all hugged him tightly and yelled enthusiastically "you're going to the finals!"

"Yeah, I am," Niko said, looking at Sceptile. "Thanks to this guy and five others."

"And you still had Lampent in reserve," Warren said, slapping Niko's back. "It would've been hard for you to lose that one."

"Well, right, but I've lost battles that lopsided before," Niko mentioned. He looked to Charlotte, who simply smiled her wonderful smile and nodded. Then to Jake and his mother, who were both equally excited for their brother/son. Then Brittany and JJ, who couldn't have imagined this only two years prior.

"It's nice to finally see you in the finals—in person," Brittany said, reaching in for a hug. "Now, we should go see who your opponent will be!"

Niko nodded, albeit exhausted, and walked with his group back to the stands to watch Oliver's battle against Simone. Niko paid close attention to the Pokémon he was using—Aegislash, Greninja, Charizard, Raichu—and thought about who could step up to each one and truly give them a run for their money.

Oliver soundly defeated Simone, only losing four Pokémon to her six—similar to Niko's battle. However, Niko did realize his Pokémon looking exhausted—Simone certainly put up a good fight.

"And now we have our two finalists! Oliver and Niko!" President Goodshow declared. "Both trainers will battle it out tomorrow afternoon to win the Lumiose City Championship!"

* * *

Niko sat in the park as he threw out his Pokémon, one by one. They all erupted out of their pokéballs, ready to hear what Niko had to say. When he told them they would be going to the finals, they cheered wildly.

"So now I have to figure out whose going, too," Niko said. "I need counter to Oliver's Pokémon, and I think, that to win, I'll need to move beyond just type strategies. I watched his six Pokémon battle today, and I think I have something figured out. However, those that battled Wally today shouldn't battle, since it'll be exhausting enough. Aggron, Sceptile, you two did excellent, as did everyone else. But I want to use a couple fresh faces here, as well as some familiar ones."

He then put together a team and went with it. The Pokémon, on the whole, seemed content with it. Others, however, did not.

When Niko was heading back to his hotel building, he noticed Wally leaving it. "Hey, Wally," Niko said. The green-haired Hoenn native barely noticed Niko as he picked up the pace. "Wally!"

"What, Niko!?" Wally shouted angrily. Niko had never seen Wally angry before. "What are you going to tell me? That I did my best? Or that we'll battle again, where you'll beat me…again? Give me a break."

"No."

"Huh?"

"Thanks. For the battle."

"Yeah, you're welcome."

"Why are you angry? Who are you angry at?"

"You…" Wally then looked down at the ground, clearly holding back tears, "and…me…"

"Why're you mad at yourself?" Niko asked calmly, as he slowly approached Wally.

"I'm never good enough, Niko," Wally muttered. "Never! You always beat me! I can never win!"

"Who cares? As long as you have a good battle, and as long as your Pokémon grow, winning isn't everything."

"Says the guy who is in the finals, and could actually win."

"Also says the guy who placed Top 8 three years in a row, forfeited a battle that could have made him a Frontier Brain, and ran off because he too quit."

Wally looked up. It then dawned on Niko that he hadn't exactly told Wally everything.

"Yeah, I gave up. But because of one of my Pokémon—my Serperior—I was able to get back up. I participated in the Unova League, got all eight badges, and placed second in the Vertress Conference that year. I could have won then, but my opponent was just stronger than me. And here I am, about to go to the finals again. Wally…you've been a trainer for a shorter time than I have, and you're a stronger trainer at your age, and with your experience, than I ever was. I'm old—22—older than you, at least. And you know what? I'm just as proud to call you my rival as I was when we competed in the Ever Grande Conference. You're my friend, Wally. You always will be."

Wally, tears streaming down his face, ran up and hugged Niko tightly.

"Th-thanks, Niko…" he then let go and looked up at Niko with just as much determination as during their battle. "Beat Oliver! Win this league! Win it for me! Win it for Charlotte, and Jake, and all of your friends that have helped make you a better trainer! The better trainer!"

Niko nodded. "Of course, Wally."

In his hotel suite, he found Warren and Charlotte sitting there, either reading or writing. When he walked in with his box full of pokéballs, they both nodded to him in acknowledgement and continued on with their activities. Niko proceeded over to his bed and sat down on it, thinking about the following day's battle. In hindsight, he was probably in a better position to win the finals round than he was last time. However, he knew that it would be difficult all the same—possibly one of the most difficult battles he's ever had.

There was also the issue of his exhaustion during mega evolution. He pulled out the white necklace pendant with a Key Stone tucked inside of it and stared down at it. It shimmered at his touch. What is this? Niko thought. Why do I feel like I'm about to faint every time I use it?

Exhausted even just thinking about it, and exhausted from the day—two long, hard-fought battles—Niko laid down and quickly fell asleep.

* * *

"Well, this is it," Warren said as he, Charlotte, Jake, JJ, Brittany, Emily, and Daisy all stood with Niko at the tunnel towards the battlefield. "How're you feeling?"

"I'm good. Oliver wanted to battle me," Niko said, "and he wanted to battle me at my best so, I hope this is it. I'm confident that it is."

"I know it is," Warren said, shaking Niko's hand. Jake then drew him into a hug, as did Sydney.

"You've got this, bro," he said.

Fay stepped up and, as usual, simply clasped Niko's hand. "You're more than capable," Next were Brittany and JJ.

"We've always believed in you, Niko. This is what you've wanted for years…literally," Brittany said.

Daisy and Emily didn't say much—they just hugged Niko as well. When they let go, Charlotte told them she'd catch up to them. Nodding curiously, all but Warren seemed to go.

"Warren!" Charlotte snapped.

"What? We're a team, right?"

"Yes, but…" she made a sweeping motion with her hand. "Go!" Warren nodded and ran off to catch up with the group, leaving Charlotte and Niko together.

"What's this about?" Niko asked curiously. Then, without any notice, Charlotte got onto her toes and, still having more distance to close, grabbed Niko's collar and pulled him down so she could kiss his cheek.

"That. I believe in you, Niko. I know you'll win this."

Niko, now blushing, nodded. "Right. Of-of course. Thanks, Charlotte."

She nodded, her radiant expression staring down Niko. She then waited for him to go to the tunnel before turning and catching up with the rest of the group.

"And now, for the Lumiose Conference Final match!" President Goodshow announced. "We have…from Pallet Town in Kanto, and a participant in five previous conferences, Niko!"

Niko walked onto the field, which was a rocky terrain to start. Once either him or Oliver defeated three Pokémon in the other's party, the field would change. He noticed Oliver, clad in a black jacket, a gray t-shirt underneath, and fitted jeans with tennis shoes to complete it.

"His opponent, from New Bark Town, and a first to the Pokémon League, Oliver!"

In the Pokémon Village Wulfric, Aurorus, and the rest of the wild Pokémon gathered around to watch. On Battle Island, Lauren watched it with some of her friends and her Pokémon.

In President Goodshow's box, Bonnie sat with her brother, Clemont. They had been watching the league battles for the past five days, excited by the different Pokémon and trainers they got to see. Clemont recognized a few of them, and pointed out to Bonnie some strategies that either he or Clembot used against them.

Suddenly, a heavy sigh of relief erupted from behind them. They both turned around to see a tall man with ruffled black hair standing in the door way, nearly doubled over. A pikachu stood next to him, equally exhausted.

"Just in time," Clemont said with a grin, "old friend."

"Have I missed anything yet?" he asked, walking up to the edge of the box.

"Nope, they're just starting. One of them is from Pallet Town!"

"Oh?" the man asked, "Which one?" When Clemont pointed out Niko, his eyes widened. "Ah, I've seen him before."

"You have?" Clemont said with surprise.

"That's not surprising at all, given the amount of trainers you see on a daily basis," Bonnie said, sitting back.

"Think he has a chance?"

"Yeah. He put up a strong fight against me," Clemont said. "His Pokémon are from all over the world, it seems. Just like yours. And he's been to five Pokémon Leagues…"

"Hmm. Bonnie, think he could get as far as you?"

"Hope so. I'd love to battle him," she said calmly.

Back on the field, the referee had just finished explaining the rules of the match and, within moments, both trainers summoned their Pokémon.

"Aegislash, I choose you!" Oliver shouted. "Give me everything you've got, Niko!"

"Will do," Niko said, expanding his own pokéball. "Talonflame, I choose you!"

"Ah, figures," Oliver said. His Pokémon resembled a golden sword with the blade pointing downwards. The edge of the blade was white and somewhat serrated near the tip. Its single eye, which was purple with a white, linear pupil, sat where the blade meets the hilt, where it was surrounded by black coloration. The handle was thick at its base, tapered as it progressed to the end, and was striated. Two cloth-like arms emerged from the sides of the hilt. Each arm was primarily black and ended in lavender, transitioned by a slight whorl between the two colors. It carried an ornate shield in at least one of its arms, usually the left arm.

"Aegislash, the Royal Sword Pokémon. Steel and ghost type. Generations of kings were attended by these Pokémon, which used their spectral power to manipulate and control people and Pokémon," Charlotte's pokédex declared.

"Talonflame, use flame charge!" Niko commanded.

"King's shield!" Oliver said calmly. Aegislash swirled around until it sheathed its golden sword. Light blue hexagonal shapes appeared one by one in front of Aegislash until they formed a shield, blocking itself from the flame charge. Talonflame crashed into this and was instantly repelled backwards. "Now, aerial ace!"

"Flame charge!" Niko shouted. Aegislash unsheathed its sword and struck at Talonflame, who also managed to hit the Royal Sword Pokémon, knocking it out of the sky and onto the rocky terrain. Aegislash erupted in flames, indicating the presence of a burn.

"Aegislash, return," Oliver said. "Aerodactyl, I choose you!" he said, summoning a pterodactyl-like Pokémon, also known as the Fossil Pokémon. "Use giga impact!"

"Dodge and use steel wing!" Niko commanded. Talonflame, using the speed she gained from flame charge, lifted herself higher into the air at the perfect time—just before Aerodactyl hit—and then descended into the Fossil Pokémon, slashing the latter's side with a gray-colored wing. Aerodactyl cried out as it crashed into the ground. "Steel wing again!"

"Aerodactyl, rock slide!" Oliver commanded. Aerodactyl, now on the ground, opened its wings and cried out, summoning an avalanche of rocks to fall down onto Talonflame, also bringing her to the ground. Talonflame slowly, but surely, got back up, stumbling a little.

"Talonflame, return," Niko said. "Rest up—I'll need you for later. Slurpuff, I choose you!"

"This is odd—" JJ mentioned. "Usually they don't substitute this much, this early."

"They both want to win—and badly," Brittany noted. "I can see them taking their time with this—it is the finals, after all."

"Slurpuff, psychic!" Niko commanded.

"Aerodactyl, rock slide!" Oliver shouted. The Fossil Pokémon fired off a series of rocks at Slurpuff, who simply moved them away with her still-newfound psychic powers. "Giga impact!"

"Dazzling gleam!" Niko shouted. Slurpuff conjured a blinding light that now fired off in concentrated beams, as opposed to simply blinding the target. Aerodactyl was hit with such attacks, finding itself losing control and crashing into a nearby rock. "Play rough!"

As soon as Aerodactyl hit the ground, Slurpuff leapt into action, slamming the full weight of her body against the Fossil Pokémon and punching and kicking it into submission. Aerodactyl then responded with an iron head, which knocked the Meringue Pokémon off of her feet and caused her to stumble before landing on her back.

"Use iron head!" Oliver commanded, thrusting his hand out. The Fossil Pokémon leapt into action spreading its wings and readying itself to dive down onto Slurpuff.

"Psychic!" Niko shouted. Slurpuff's eyes started to glow as she thrust Aerodactyl to the side and onto the ground, effectively repelling the iron head. "Now cotton guard and play rough!"

Slurpuff covered herself in her usual cotton armor and charged at Aerodactyl, who spun back onto its feet and readied itself to use giga impact.

"Jump!" Niko shouted as soon as Aerodactyl launched towards the Meringue Pokémon. She did, only her foot getting caught in the attack, which forced her to spin through the air and out of control before somehow landing on her feet. "Dazzling gleam instead!"

Slurpuff fired off more concentrated beams of light, each striking Aerodactyl before the Fossil Pokémon wasn't able to get back up in response.

"Aerodactyl is unable to battle, Slurpuff is the winner! Oliver will now use his next Pokémon!" 1-0, Niko.

"Aerodactyl, return. Well done, Niko. Aegislash, I choose you!"

"Slurpuff, be ready—this one's tough," Niko said. "Use cotton guard!"

"Aerial ace!" Oliver commanded. Aegislash's sword started to glow as it spun itself through the air, slashing at Slurpuff's cotton armor. "Iron head!"

"Psychic!" Niko commanded, but it was too late—Aegislash struck Slurpuff with iron head and launched her backwards and into a rock, nearly shattering it. "Slurpuff! Use dazzling gleam!"

"King's shield!" Oliver commanded. Aegislash sheathed itself as the light rays hit all around in front of it, causing small explosions that Aegislash forced its way through to use iron head to finally defeat Slurpuff, just as it felt its burn from earlier.

"Slurpuff is unable to battle, Aegislash is the winner!" the referee declared. "Niko will now use his next Pokémon!" 1-1, Oliver.

"Talonflame, I choose you!" Niko shouted. "Use flame charge!"

"King's shield!" Oliver shouted. "This again? Alright Niko…"

Talonflame crashed into Aegislash as she was then thrust backwards, rolling through the air. However, Niko noticed. She was getting faster.

"Again!" Niko commanded. Now he had an idea. When Aegislash used king's shield, he only saw a protective barrier in front. What if he went behind it? Talonflame now hit closer to Aegislash's left side, and Niko suddenly noticed less of the shield's effects. Aegislash took another hit from the burn.

"Aegislash, use sacred sword!" Oliver commanded. Talonflame dodged the move and, just as the Royal Sword Pokémon sheathed itself, Niko saw his opportunity.

"Flare blitz!" Niko commanded.

"King's shield!" Oliver shouted.

Just as Talonflame got close enough, Niko commanded her to move behind Aegislash. "Attack!"

"What!?" Oliver shouted, but it was too late—Talonflame was faster, and she struck Aegislash from behind, her body alight with flames. The Royal Sword Pokémon was rocketed into the ground.

"Finish it off with flame charge!" Niko commanded. Talonflame burst downwards, a long tail of fire erupting behind her. She also crashed into the ground, on top of Aegislash, before swooping back into the air and leaving her opponent there, in defeat.

"Aegislash is unable to battle, Talonflame is the winner!" the referee declared. 2-1, Niko.

"Aegislash, return," Oliver said. "Claydol, I choose you!" he shouted, summoning the Clay Doll Pokémon. "Use hyper beam!"

"Dodge it with flame charge!" Niko commanded. Talonflame shot to the side, evading the beam of light orange energy before charging down towards her newest opponent. Claydol's eyes began to glow as it took control of Talonflame and thrust it into the ground. "Talonflame!"

"Hyper beam!" Oliver commanded. The Clay Doll Pokémon fired off another orange energy beam from one of its larger eyes and hit Talonflame, burying her in the rocky battlefield below.

"Talonflame is unable to battle, Claydol is the winner!" the referee declared. 2-2, Oliver.

"Talonflame, thanks," Niko said. "You did amazing. Feraligatr, you're up buddy!"

"Yes! Feraligatr!" Brittany and JJ both cheered.

"You ready for this?" Niko said. Feraligatr turned and nodded. "Use whirlpool!"

"Use earth power!" Oliver commanded. Claydol slammed its body into the ground, forcing a vibration underground to erupt. It continued until it hit Feraligatr, causing him to misfire his whirlpool. "Now, psychic!"

Feraligatr was thrown to the side, causing him to lose control of his body. After being thrust into a rock, the Big Jaw Pokémon was released from Claydol's grasp, and barely managed to dodge a subsequent hyper beam.

"Now, whirlpool!" Niko commanded. It was nearly blocked by earth power a second time, but Claydol got caught up in the whirlpool, forcing it high into the air before it descended back to the ground and crashed. "Hydro pump!

"Claydol, hyper beam!" Oliver commanded. The two attacks struck in the middle of the field, with Feraligatr refusing to let up on his own water attack.

"Move forward, Feraligatr…" Niko said calmly. Feraligatr did so, taking slow, but full, steps forward, slowly closing the gap between it and Claydol. "Now, move out of the way and use ice punch!"

Feraligatr ended the hydro pump, allowing hyper beam to proceed forward, before running down the rest of the field, his frozen fist ready to strike.

"Claydol, explosion!" Oliver commanded.

Niko's eyes widened as he saw the Clay Doll Pokémon erupt in an explosion of energy, launching Feraligatr high into the air before he crashed onto the ground. The Big Jaw Pokémon slowly, but surely, got back up as Claydol lay there in defeat.

"Claydol is unable to battle, Feraligatr is the winner!" the referee said. 3-2, Niko. "Now that Niko has defeated three of Oliver's Pokémon, the battlefield will change!"

Niko returned Feraligatr, as he needed the rest. He then watched the field change from a rocky one to a meadow one.

"Niko's doing alright, so far," Warren commentated. "But his Feraligatr is pretty beaten up."

"He is, but Feraligatr can withstand that," JJ said. "It's one of his toughest Pokémon for sure."

The battle was to resume again, with Oliver and Niko both summoning their next Pokémon.

"Pangoro, I choose you!" Niko shouted.

"Raichu, you're up!" Oliver said, summoning a dark orange and brown electric mouse.

"Pangoro, show the world your power! Use hammer arm!"

"Raichu, wild charge!" Oliver commanded. Both Pokémon charged at one another, each glowing with different energies. Raichu collided with its opponent before taking a hammer arm to the side of the head, rocketing it sideways to the edge of the field. "Now, use thunderbolt!"

"Pangoro, use—" Niko began, but noticed how Pangoro had difficulty moving. "Pangoro!"

"Gor…goro…" Pangoro said as he fell to one knee, taking the thunderbolt.

"Pangoro, you're stronger than this!" Niko shouted. "This is why we became friends! To get stronger! Pangoro, use hammer arm!"

Pangoro opened an eye and looked out at Raichu, who was running towards him, tail shining like steel. The Daunting Pokémon, paralyzed from the static the Electric Mouse emitted, summoned just enough energy to block Raichu's iron tail with hammer arm.

"Now sky uppercut!" Niko shouted, upper cutting the air. Pangoro did the same, slamming his fist upwards, slowly but powerfully, and launched Raichu into the air before it crashed down, struggling to get back up. Pangoro also collapsed again, the static making it difficult for him to continue moving. "Pangoro…don't give up. Ever."

"Pan…pangoro," Pangoro said, slowly getting back up. "GOROOOO!"

"That's right! Pangoro, use crunch!" Niko shouted. Pangoro charged through the meadow towards Raichu, who was already getting back up. "On the tail!"

Pangoro grabbed Raichu's tail with its teeth and flung the Electric Mouse around. "Electro ball!" Oliver commanded.

"Throw it!" Niko shouted. Pangoro, before he could get hit by the attack, let go of Raichu, the electro ball misfiring and hitting the part of the meadow near Niko. "Hammer arm!"

Pangoro managed to meet Raichu as it got closer to the ground and jumped a few feet to slam its glowing arm down on the Electric Mouse Pokémon. Raichu crashed into the ground, causing smoke to arise all around the two Pokémon.

"Raichu is unable to battle, Pangoro is the winner!" the referee declared. 4-2, Niko. "Oliver will now use his fifth Pokémon!"

"Raichu, return," Oliver said. "Greninja, I choose you!"

"Pangoro, let's continue," Niko said. "Use sky uppercut!"

"Water shuriken!" Oliver shouted. Greninja created two small shurikens composed of compacted water and fired them at Pangoro, who took each to the chest and was immediately halted in its tracks. "Now night slash!"

"Hammer arm!" Niko shouted. The purple blade slammed down on Pangoro, who blocked it with his arm, holding Greninja in place. "Crunch!"

"Water shuriken!" Oliver shouted. Greninja leapt backwards and into the air, firing off small, blue shurikens again and hitting Pangoro, causing mist to erupt from the impact. "Aerial ace!"

"Block with crunch!" Niko shouted. Pangoro reached forward to crunch down on his opponent, but missed as Greninja shifted to the side and slammed its right foot into Pangoro's right ankle, knocking the Daunting Pokémon over before flipping in the air and slamming its heel down on Pangoro.

"Gor…o…" Pangoro said slowly before fainting.

"Pangoro is unable to battle, Greninja is the winner! Niko will now send out his next Pokémon!" the referee declared. 4-3.

"Magneton, I choose you!" Niko shouted, summoning his trusty Magnet Pokémon. "Let's win this! Use thunderbolt!"

"Greninja, dodge and use water shuriken!" Oliver commanded. The Ninja Pokémon leapt forward, throwing out two shurikens that met with the thunderbolt, forcing an explosion. Greninja then charged down the field as Magneton fired off magnet bombs. "Run through them!"

Greninja jumped through the bombs, each crashing behind the water frog as it whipped out a purple blade to use night slash.

"Magneton, thunderbolt!" Niko commanded. The electric move hit Greninja's night slash, electrifying the blade. Greninja then spun around and slammed it into Magneton, forcing it to spin out of control. "Sonicboom!"

"Smokescreen!" Oliver commanded. Smoke erupted all around Greninja as it dodged the sonicboom, disappearing from the field as the sonic waves quickly dissipated the smoke.

Niko and Magneton looked around for Greninja, finding nothing.

"Night slash!"

Greninja slammed the purple blade down on Magneton's top magnet, forcing it into the ground, dust coming up everywhere.

"Return, Greninja," Oliver said. "Charizard, I choose you!" he said, summoning the Flame Pokémon who wore an anklet with an orange-looking mega stone on it.

"Alright Magneton, this one'll be tough. Can you do it?" Niko said. Magneton, reeling from the night slash, nodded. "Magneton, use thunderbolt!"

"Charizard, flamethrower!" Oliver commanded. Both attacks fired off, meeting in the middle of the space between. "Now, flare blitz!"

"Magneton, sonicboom!" Niko commanded. The move hardly stopped Charizard, who crashed into Magneton with the full weight of its body, flames erupting everywhere. Magneton spun once more out of control before regaining its composure. "Thunderbolt!"

"Block it with flamethrower again!" Oliver commanded. He then reached over to his wrist, which had a Key Stone attached to it. "Now, Charizard!"

He's mega evolving…Niko thought. "Magneton, zap cannon!"

"Charizard, fulfill the dreams of my brother, and your father! MEGA EVOLVE!" he shouted. A bright light engulfed the lizard dragon as it took on a new shape. It looked more expansive in its appearance, but its coloration stayed largely the same. It now had white pupils. It had three pointed horns on the back of its head, the middle of which was longer. Its shorter snout had larger fangs and a ridge on the nose. Its neck was shorter, and its hands were much smaller, but its torso and legs were longer. Small wings developed on its wrists, while the ones on its back became larger and now had ragged edges. The back of its tail had a large thorn at the base and three smaller ones near the tip, which burned with a longer flame. As soon as it appeared, the sun seemed to get brighter.

"Niko has to fight that now?" Warren said with surprise.

"RIP Magneton," JJ said.

"Niko can beat it, for sure," Charlotte said. Brittany and Fay looked over and nodded in agreement.

"That magneton has been through quite a lot," Fay added. "It can handle a charizard at this point."

"Blast burn!" Oliver commanded.

"ZAP CANNON!" Niko shouted. Magneton fired off a powerful blast of electric energy that ripped up the field before Mega Charizard could. It struck the Flame Pokémon and brought it to a knee. However, just before getting hit, Mega Charizard released a stream of fire underground that erupted just underneath Magneton, engulfing it in flame and rocketing it high into the air.

Magneton crashed down onto the ground, the connection keeping the magnets from splitting apart severing, causing each individual magnets to roll in a different direction.

"Magneton is unable to battle, Charizard is the winner! Niko will now use his next Pokémon!" the referee declared. 4-4, Oliver.

"Magneton, return. You still did great, buddy. You made it easier for us to take down that Charizard. Feraligatr, I choose you!"

Feraligatr, still somewhat damaged from Claydol's explosion previously, stood straight up as he sized up his next opponent. Niko saw the way he was standing—the Big Jaw Pokémon was ready for anything.

"Feraligatr, use hydro pump!"

"Blast burn!" Oliver commanded. The Flame Pokémon slammed a fist into the ground, ripping it up a second time before striking Feraligatr, causing him to stumble slightly before regaining his balance. "Now, solarbeam!"

"What?" Niko asked with surprise. Mega Charizard fired off a beam of solar energy as soon as he was commanded to—no charging up necessary. His friend in the stands were equally surprised. Feraligatr blocked it with hydro pump, but clearly felt the energy behind his opponent's attack.

"Mega Charizard's ability is drought, Niko," Oliver said, pointing to the sky. "Notice how its warmer out right now. It allows solarbeam no time to charge—I can use it whenever."

"Damn…" Niko muttered. "We're going to have to go in closer, then. Feraligatr, whirlpool!"

"Charizard, use solarbeam!" Oliver commanded. Turns out, the whirlpool was a ruse—Feraligatr shifted to the side and ran through the meadow battlefield before using hydro pump up close on a surprised Mega Charizard.

"Now, ice punch!"

"Flamethrower!" Oliver shouted. The stream of fire slammed into Feraligatr's frozen fist, which in the intense heat and under the flamethrower, melted away quickly. Feraligatr then used hydro pump again, only to be blocked by solarbeam.

Niko bit his finger. How will I beat this? He asked, hoping for a miracle, since it was almost obvious that his last Pokémon—Venusaur—could not match up to a Mega Charizard with powered-up fire attacks.

C'mon, Niko…Charlotte thought to herself. Noibat chittered wildly in her lap. C'mon…you can get out of this…

"Feraligatr, hydro pump on the ground!" Niko shouted. The Big Jaw Pokémon nodded, firing off high-pressured blasts of water at the ground, causing a light mist to appear and cloud out much of the battlefield. Suddenly, however, a solarbeam came ripping through the rising mist, nearly hitting Feraligatr, but nevertheless forced him to stumble. "Don't give up! Use whirlpool!"

"Block it with flamethrower!" Oliver commanded. Mega Charizard belted out a stream of fire that hit the whirlpool, allowing Feraligatr to continue to move closer.

"ICE PUNCH!" Niko shouted and, before Oliver or Charizard knew it, the Big Jaw Pokémon was slamming his fist across the face of the Flame Pokémon, knocking it to the ground. "Whirlpool!" Feraligatr threw out a vortex of swirling water that hit Mega Charizard and tossed it high into the air. "Now, hydro pump!"

"GATR!" Feraligatr shouted, releasing a high-pressured blast of water from his mouth and hitting Mega Charizard, forcing it to fall to the ground. Mega Charizard tried to get back up but, fortunately for Niko and Feraligatr, ended up collapsing back onto the ground in defeat, reverting back to its original form in the process.

"Charizard is unable to battle, Feraligatr is the winner!" the referee declared. "Oliver will now use his final Pokémon!" 5-4, Niko.

"Greninja, I choose you!" Oliver shouted confidently, summoning the Ninja Pokémon. "Use night slash!"

"Feraligatr, ice punch!" Niko shouted. The Big Jaw Pokémon ran forward, landing a frozen punch on the Ninja Pokémon's purple blade. "Now, whirlpool!"

"Greninja, dodge and use aerial ace!" Oliver commanded. Greninja leapt backwards before jumping high into the air, over the whirlpool, and slamming both feet on top of Feraligatr, forcing him into the ground. "Now, night slash again!" Greninja jumped onto the ground and slashed the Big Jaw Pokémon in the back, knocking him onto his face in defeat.

"Feraligatr is unable to battle, Greninja is the winner!" the referee declared. 5-5, Oliver.

"Return," Niko said calmly. It's just down to you, buddy, he thought. "Venusaur, I choose you!"

All of his friends leaned forward. Here, in this moment, they were witnessing their friend finally on the cusp of victory. Whether or not he won the Lumiose Conference was entirely up to him and Venusaur. In the President's box Bonnie, Clemont, and their friend all sat close to the window, all paying close attention.

"Remind you of something?" A smirking Bonnie asked the black-haired man, who nodded.

"Yep. Exactly like this."

"It's come down to this, Niko," Oliver said. "I'll say—I'm really having fun."

"I am too," Niko said with a kind smile etched on his face. He was being honest—this was one of his better battles, he felt. The only battle that was ever more satisfying, he thought, would have been the one where he defeated Hunter. But…that's it.

Niko gripped his pendant. It felt warm—warmer than usual, actually. He felt the energy surging through him, even though he never commanded Venusaur to mega evolve. But the Seed Pokémon turned to him and nodded decisively. There was no other option—they'd do this from the very beginning.

"It's just you and me, Venusaur," Niko said quietly. "It always has been. Our League journey depends on us—and only us—now. All of our efforts over the past six years come down to this. Venusaur, let's show them the strength of our bond! Venusaur, let's mega evolve!"

He felt a powerful rush of energy running through his every vein, as if he too were evolving. But only Venusaur was and, when the transformation completed, Niko felt powerful—physically, mentally, and emotionally. He felt like nothing could stop him and Venusaur.

"Solarbeam!" Niko shouted, noticing the warmer weather was still active.

"Greninja, dodge and use aerial ace!" Oliver commanded. Greninja skillfully evaded the stream of solar energy fired at it and rushed down the field, hands and feet both glowing bright white.

"Venusaur, jump!" Niko shouted. The Seed Pokémon leapt into the air. "Now, petal blizzard!"

"Greninja, into the air with aerial ace!" Oliver shouted. Greninja leapt directly through the petal blizzard and struck Mega Venusaur in his underbelly, forcing both of them to the ground. Mega Venusaur crashed while Greninja landed safely. "Now, night slash!"

"Stun spore!" Niko commanded. Greninja threw its pink tongue around its entire face to protect itself from the spores before running into the expanding yellow cloud of dust and slashing at Venusaur, who roared from the attack, and launched Greninja backwards with a solarbeam. That must be the first time we actually hit Greninja…or maybe Magneton did, Niko thought, trying to judge how much energy Greninja had, and how much damage it might be able to take. He also felt the pain from the consecutive strikes against Mega Venusaur, letting out a low cry. "Frenzy plant!"

"VENUS!" Venusaur roared out, ripping up the meadow field with spiked roots that all went for Greninja, who either cut them or dodged them in an effort to get back to its opponent.

"Aerial ace!" Oliver commanded just as Greninja was hit by one of the roots, launching it backwards. Niko then felt a rush of energy escape him—frenzy plant took more out of Venusaur than he realized. We need to calm down on using that, then.

"Petal blizzard!" Niko commanded. Greninja once more dodged the attack before slamming its right foot into Venusaur's forehead. "Solarbeam!" Just as the drought was disappearing, Mega Venusaur fired off a quick solarbeam that hit Greninja in the face, causing it to crash into the ground. "Stun spore!"

"Greninja, move!" Oliver shouted and, once again, the Ninja Pokémon successfully evaded the stun spore. "Night slash!"

"Petal blizzard!" Venusaur fired off more pink petals at Greninja, who took the hit and was thrust backwards, landing in a small bed of flowers off to the side. "Now, frenzy plant!"

"Aerial ace and night slash, go!" Greninja immediately got back up and fired off towards the Seed Pokémon, striking at the roots as they came towards it. Greninja finally made it to Mega Venusaur, who was already charging a solarbeam to strike Greninja with.

"NOW!" Niko shouted, nearly doubling over from the pain of Greninja's constant attacks. Just as Venusaur fired off the attack, Greninja landed a powerful aerial ace on Venusaur's forehead, forcing the Seed Pokémon's entire head into the ground. "AGH!" Niko shouted, collapsing onto his knees.

"NIKO!" Charlotte shouted, worried for both him and Venusaur. Noibat cried out suddenly, briefly piercing the ear drums of everyone around her. Brittany held up a hand to her mouth, and JJ's, Jake's, and Warren's eyes were all fixated on the four individuals on the battlefield.

"Use…frenzy…plant…" Niko said weakly. He knew Venusaur would do it, but he felt like he had to say something.

"What's up with this guy?" the black-haired man asked Clemont, who simply shrugged.

"Could be a sort of bond phenomenon," the blonde-haired gym leader replied.

"Greninja, water shuriken!" Oliver commanded. Greninja fired off a massive, blue-colored shuriken out towards Mega Venusaur just as it, equally as exhausted, took several hits from the frenzy plant before falling onto its knees and hands.

Niko screamed out as he felt the shuriken strike Venusaur. "Venusaur…don't give…up…"

* * *

 **Author's Note: Next episode-the winner of the Lumiose Conference will be announced!**

 **Also, I edited the AN for last episode-made it to a million words!**


	51. Thanks, Charlotte

**Episode 51: Thanks, Charlotte**

Time seemed to slow down around Niko. He didn't faint, to be sure, but his vision and hearing were blurred. He looked up and saw lights flashing, Venusaur laying there, and Oliver walking onto the field.

"…the victory goes to Niko from Pallet Town!" was all Niko heard.

6-5, Niko.

Niko had one hand placed on his chest and another on the platform he was standing on when he distinctly heard Oliver's voice above him. Looking up, Niko was about to fall backwards but was caught by his rival, who helped him stand up.

"Niko? Are you okay? Niko?" Oliver asked. The brown-haired trainer shook his head in an attempt to restore his vision. It seemed to succeed, if only barely.

"Y-yeah…" Niko said. "Mega evolution is hard to do."

"I completely understand," Oliver said. "Not sure why it only happens to you, but it did. Anyways, congrats."

"Huh?" Niko asked.

"You…you won, Niko."

"I won?" Niko looked at Oliver, who was simply nodding. Niko then looked to Venusaur, who was slowly getting back onto his own feet. "I…I won…"

He didn't quite know what to say next. He has only come close once, and that was it. What did he do next? What was in store for him? All he knew was to run and hug Venusaur, which he did.

"Venusaur…" Niko said, tears running down his face. "I…I…"

"Venus," Venusaur said quietly, nuzzling Niko's head with his own. "Ven, venus. Venusaur."

Niko couldn't stop crying. He was too filled with joy when the realization had finally hit him. But it wasn't over yet—far from it, as Niko would soon realize.

"Hey, Champion!" Bonnie's voice said minutes later as she looked at Niko and Venusaur. "Congrats!"

"You did excellent, Niko," Clemont said, adjusting his glasses. Colton Goodshow stood amongst them, along with a black-haired trainer with a pikachu that Niko didn't immediately recognize.

"Hi…and, thanks," Niko said, turning to Venusaur.

"Is that your first Pokémon?" the black-haired trainer asked.

"Yeah, Professor Oak gave him to me. We've been through a lot together."

"Heh, that's how I feel about Pikachu," he said, petting the yellow mouse on his shoulder, who cooed affectionately. "Congrats, by the way. I'm Ash. Ash Ketchum."

"Niko," he said, shaking Ash's hand.

"Ash is a friend of mine!" Bonnie said, "he came in second here once!"

"Long time ago, but yeah," Ash said.

Bonnie then took the trophy from President Goodshow and handed it to Niko. It was a large, golden trophy with a pokéball in the center. "Here, as a commemoration of your victory here, Kalos Champion."

Niko took it, unable to comprehend the amount of feelings he felt—exhaustion, joy, confusion, happiness, wonder, surprise—but whatever he felt, he knew it was his greatest accomplishment yet.

The entire time, the crowd was cheering.

"I'll let you rest, Niko," Bonnie said, "but…when you have some time to spare, please visit the recreation center—it's off to the east of the stadium."

"I will, thanks."

* * *

"CHAMPION NIKO!" Warren shouted, nearly tackling his friend to the ground as they met outside the tunnel to the battlefield. "YOU FINALLY DID IT! YOU FINALLY DID IT!"

"Heh, thanks Warren," Niko said, gathering himself again before facing his other friends.

"I knew you could do it," JJ said.

"Looks like I'll have to catch up, now," Jake smirked.

"Congrats!" Sydney screamed excitedly. Emily also congratulated him.

"You finally did it," Fay said.

"And you were finally right for once," Niko said with a lazy wink. "Thanks for believing in me."

"Always, Niko," Fay replied, clasping his rival's hand.

"I told you," Charlotte said quietly as she looked up at Niko, who responded with a kind, but tired, smile.

"Your father would be so proud of you," Daisy said, hugging her son. This, of all things, made Niko snap again, and he shed tears silently while embracing his mother.

"You look exhausted," Warren said, "let's get you back to the suite."

"Yeah, I really need to lay down," Niko said. Sooner than he could remember, he found himself falling into a quick and deep slumber, waking up several hours later to Charlotte lightly shaking his shoulder. "What's up…?"

"There's someone here to talk to you," Charlotte said softly. Niko got up and saw Oliver standing in the doorway.

"Sorry if I woke you," he said.

"No, it's totally fine. How're you?" Niko asked as Charlotte left the room.

"Doing alright," Oliver said as he sat down across from Niko, on Warren's bed. "Feeling better?"

"Yeah, loads," Niko said, rolling his eyes, albeit not in a sarcastic way. "How're you Pokémon doing? How're you doing?"

"Y'know Niko, I'm not taking the loss that badly," Oliver said, breaking into a slight smile. "Because, out of all of the trainers here, you were the only one I wouldn't have minded losing to."

"Really? Me?"

"Yep, you. I wasn't kidding when I said you're an inspiration to me. The way you battle, the way you connect with your Pokémon, it's subtle, but it's powerful. I think it you truly opened it up to its fullest potential, you'd easily be the strongest trainer in the world."

"I don't know about—"

"You would, Niko."

"Why am I such an inspiration?"

"You remind me a lot of my brother, that's why. He was on his way to becoming a powerful trainer, but he unfortunately passed away. I don't like talking about it, so I won't get into the details, but I looked up to him. It's because of him that I became a trainer; because of him that I chose Charmander as my first Pokémon; and because of him that I pursued trying to defeat you here, at the Lumiose Conference. If I could beat you, I felt like I could have stood up to my brother when he became the World Champion and I was finally a Pokémon trainer. It would've been like the battle I had always dreamed of having."

Niko was silent, trying to take it all in. He had hardly known Oliver, but he felt like there was a deeper connection between the two of them now—one that Niko had only now begun to understand.

"Th-thanks…" Niko said quietly. "I'll do my best to live up to that."

"I know you will. You're determined, just like he was. I think you'll one day realize your destiny. I can only hope to be around when that happens," he looked around the room before turning back to Niko. "So…what's next for you?"

"I don't know. Bonnie wants me to meet with her, but after that I think I'll go back to Pallet Town and see what's next. Usually after a Pokémon League I do that."

"Fair. Anyways Niko, I just wanted to stop by and see how you were doing. I'll…catch ya later."

"See ya, Oliver," Niko said, still groggy from his nap. He looked out the window—it was definitely dark and, in the spring, that likely meant it was late. He stood up, stretched for a minute, and then left the room, grabbing the box of pokéballs on his way out.

By the time he got to the field, he threw all of them out, summoning each of his Pokémon.

"Well…we did it," Niko said quietly. He looked to Venusaur in particular. "How're you feeling?"

Venusaur nodded, indicating he was feeling fine. Niko smirked.

"I'm glad. Thanks to all of you, we were declared the Champion earlier today after defeating Oliver."

All of the Pokémon cheered, specifically for Talonflame, Slurpuff, Magneton, Pangoro, Feraligatr, and Venusaur, but also generally.

"I wouldn't have gotten this far—in the tournament, but also in life—without all of you. I don't know what's next for us, but whatever it is, I want all of you by my side when I get there."

"And we'll be there, too," Niko turned to see Warren and Charlotte (with Noibat on her shoulder), flanked by JJ, Brittany, Sydney, and Jake.

"Of course. I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Let's go grab something to eat. It's on us," Warren said excitedly. "And we'll make something extra special for the Pokémon tomorrow morning."

Niko nodded. "I'm just fine with that."

* * *

Niko arrived at the recreation center around noon the following day, fulfilling a request by the Kalos League Champion, Bonnie. Walking in, the woman at the reception desk immediately seemed to recognize him and pick up a phone, presumably to call someone close to the Champion. She then put the phone down and kindly asked Niko to wait.

Minutes later, a young man dressed in a league official's uniform appeared out of a nearby door and nodded to Niko, who stood up. He was led through the door, down a hallway, and towards an elevator that seemed to go on forever, Minutes later, the elevator door opened, revealing a well-lit room with and five figures standing in the back of the room. There were two people on each side of Bonnie, who sat in a cushioned red chair and gave a friendly wave to Niko as he walked into the room, the elevator door slamming behind him.

Niko looked around in confusion before Bonnie began to speak, noticing in particular the four figures flanking Bonnie. One was a tall, thin woman with pink hair with a ponytail and curls that fell to her shoulder. Her eyes were hidden behind red-shaded glasses. She wore a black cardigan with a turtleneck, sleeveless shirt underneath, and shiny, fitted red pants to complete the look. To her left was a man Niko remembered from somewhere. He too was tall and slender, with pale white skin. His hair light and curls around his head gracefully. His eyes were a deep sapphire blue. His uniform was regal-looking—the front of his shirt resembled a chef's garb, with four large white buttons, but it was merged with medieval-looking, apron-like vestments. His uniform was high-collared, and the collar was rippled around the edges like a scallop shell. His tie was light blue and had a teardrop-shaped jewel pendant hanging around his neck with what looked like a mega stone on it.

On Bonnie's other side was an elderly woman with dark blue hair and two pigtails. She wore a brown shirt with a yellow sash around her stomach and a striped dark red dress with rippled ends. Around her neck and shoulders lay a dragon accessory that resembled dragon's teeth, each one connected by green and orange decorations. Lastly, to her left was a heavily-built man with black spiked hair and pale skin. His eyes were bright blue, and he was fully clad in silver and gold knight's armor. Lastly, he wore a six-pointed golden star on his forehead.

"I'm glad you could make it, Champion."

"Of course…do you want to talk about something?"

"Yeah! So, every year we hold the Lumiose Conference, and every year we get a winner. In addition to taking the title of Champion of the Lumiose Conference, they are offered something else—a chance to participate in the champion's league. Are you familiar with it?"

"It's been mentioned to me a few times, but that's it," Niko said.

"Fair, not many people can explain much about it, despite it not being entirely secretive. Essentially, you'll get a chance to battle each member of the Elite 4 in a six-on-six Pokémon battle. Defeat each one consecutively, and then you'll get a chance to battle me for the title of Kalos Champion. The choice is entirely yours," Bonnie said. "Oh, by the way, meet the Elite 4. Malva,"

"Humph."

"Siebold."

"I believe we've met before," Siebold said, squinting his eyes.

"Drasna."

"Congrats on your victory, young man."

"And Wikstrom."

"An honor to meet you, Sir Niko."

"Pleasure to meet all of you, too," Niko said. "How long do I have to make a decision?"

"Ideally as soon as possible, since we need to organize the logistics of these matches. They would be held in the same stadium, but each battle would be on consecutive days. And the battlefield would be a unique field designed by the specific Elite 4 member."

Niko thought about this. The chance to be the Champion of the Kalos League. He had attained the title of Champion, but only of the Lumiose Conference. A small feat, no less, but to become a Pokémon Master he had to keep reaching new heights and challenges.

"I accept," Niko said without much more thought on the matter.

"Excellent. Your first opponent will be Malva, and it will be tomorrow at 5pm. See you then!" Bonnie said. Niko looked at Malva, who simply smirked villainously. He didn't like that look at all.

* * *

"The Champion's League?" Jake asked at lunch.

"Yep. My next battle is tomorrow evening," Niko said, having explained the conversation he had had with Bonnie and the Elite 4.

"How do you feel about that?" Brittany asked.

"I feel ready. I just need to start training soon."

"And you'll win each battle," Charlotte said, patting Niko's back. "You definitely will."

"Thanks, Charlotte."

After eating, Niko then re-summoned all of his Pokémon and explained to them their next challenge. As he finished explaining, he saw Charlotte running down the way with Warren and Jake in tow.

"What's up?" Niko asked curiously.

"N-nothing," Warren said, doubling over in exhaustion. "Other than Charlotte found some information you might find useful."

"It's the type specialties for each member," Charlotte said, holding up a piece of paper. "I wrote them down. Malva is a fire type user, Siebold water type, Drasna dragon type, and Wikstrom uses steel types."

"I'm facing Malva first, so I need to counter water types," Niko said, turning to his team and immediately finding the water Pokémon. "I think I have an idea of who should compete for this first battle.

"Be careful, though," Charlotte said, "they all use mega evolved Pokémon, too."

"We will be," Niko said, noticing Charlotte's eyes light up, for whatever reason.

"Niko, wanna battle?" Jake asked, pulling out a pokéball. "To practice for your first match."

Niko turned to his group of Pokémon, and then nodded. "Alright, let's go for it. Clawitzer, I choose you!" the Howitzer Pokémon emerged from the crowd of Pokémon to stand by his trainer with his usual aloofness.

"And how about we practice with an actual fire type…Emboar, I choose you!" he said, throwing a pokéball out containing a familiar Mega Fire Pig Pokémon.

"So that's one of the Pokémon you caught in Unova, eh?" Niko asked, with his brother nodding. "Alright then…Clawitzer, water pulse!"

"Block it with hammer arm!" Jake shouted, and Emboar's arm lit up as it hit the water pulse to the side, causing it to burst several feet away. Niko and Clawitzer both registered surprised expressions before using dragon pulse. "Now, flare blitz!"

The two attacks collided, and Jake commanded Emboar to use head smash just as Clawitzer used crabhammer. Both attacks collided, and repelled the other in opposite directions. The battle continued on like this for some time, with Niko occasionally switching out for other Pokémon, and Jake using more than just Emboar—he also used a Typhlosion and Arcanine to match Niko's Pokémon as well with hopes of giving him more practice against fire types.

After Jake was done, Fay also helped, with his Charizard and Typhlosion also giving Niko a run for his money. The fact that Charizard was capable of flying helped Niko expand his strategies, as he might have to deal with aerial fire types as well. Malva could really use anything against him.

It made Niko wonder when the last time he had ever fought a fire type specialist. He thought of Flint, and then Flannery before that, and Blaine before that. In all, it had been a while. But not only did Niko feel better about his chances against Malva, he also appreciated the opportunity to battle against his younger brother, a chance that didn't come around very often.

* * *

Niko sat outside of the hotel that night, looking up at the moon from his vantage point on the bench out in the park nearby. He had spent several hours training with his Pokémon—the point where they trained generally, and not specifically to battle Malva. He felt confident going into it, but he was nervous all the same. He had never seriously challenged an Elite 4 member—usually, he would meet them on his travels and challenge them to a one-on-one match, and they would usually use their ace Pokémon and he would lose badly. Now was different. He was given the opportunity to take on a member at their strongest when he too was at his strongest. It was a lot to take in, for sure.

"Hey," Niko heard Charlotte's voice behind him.

"Oh, hey Charlotte," Niko said. "What's going on?"

"Nothing. Mind if I join you?"

"Do you have to ask?"

"It's polite, right?"

Niko laughed. "Of course. Sit down," he said, patting the half of the bench next to him. Charlotte sat down, her hands resting on her lap as she looked up at the moon.

"It's beautiful out tonight."

"Truly is."

"How do you feel?"

"Me? Fine. Nervous, but fine."

"Why nervous?"

"Never battled one of them before. It'll be a new experience for me."

"It's new to all of us," Charlotte said. "But if anyone can do it, you can."

"Thanks, Charlotte. I appreciate the constant confidence that you have in me."

"Why wouldn't I? You're amazing, Niko."

"Am I? I've done things that aren't so amazing."

"So? Everyone has. It's how you react to your failures that show who you really are. Judging by how you react, you're a great guy."

"You're not so bad yourself," Niko said, extending both arms out so that they were leaning over the bench. Charlotte took this as a sign and scooted closer to him. "How're you feeling, though? You were pretty torn up when you lost."

"I was, and still kinda am. But I've resolved to just do better. It's what you would've done. It's what Venusaur instilled in me."

"Venusaur?"

"Oh, right. I put the scarf on Venusaur before your battle with Ian. Venusaur gave me a sense of—" Charlotte was stopped abruptly by Niko's lips touching hers. "Mm."

They sat there, on the bench, for the better part of a minute, their lips locked. Niko eventually wrapped his arms around Charlotte and pulled her in close. She did the same. The rush of energy, from Niko's perspective, was similar to how he felt when Venusaur mega evolved. It was passionate; it was powerful.

"Thanks, Charlotte," Niko finally said after releasing his light hold on his friend. "I won because of you. Against Ian, Wally, and Oliver. And I had no idea."

"You deserved to win, Niko. More than anyone else. Once Venusaur was convinced, I knew you were going to go all the way and win the entire thing," Charlotte said, blushing.

"You've always believed in me, Charlotte. I can't express how much that means to me," he placed his hands on her shoulders. Her small shoulders. He felt the forest green corduroy jacket underneath his hands.

"Of course, Niko. Again, why wouldn't I?" She leaned in closer. "I really like you."

Niko wasn't surprised by this. "Ditto."

Charlotte seemed to be the surprised one. "R-really?"

"Yeah. You're empathetic. You're strong, and independent. You care about what others think of you, but let it roll off your sleeve. You're determined—certainly now. And I find you beautiful," Charlotte blushed harder. "Plus, Warren kinda told me.

"What!? How did he-?"

"He told me it was obvious that you liked me when we were in Coumarine City. At the time, I had no idea how I felt—I was confused—but after a while I started to realize that my feelings were real and legitimate. That they existed! That's why we went out in Lumiose City, last time we were here—I wanted to be with you, one-on-one, away from everything else, so that I could see for certain if I liked you."

"And…?"

"And, well, it didn't help too much, but looking back on it I think I always sort of knew it. I felt comfortable telling you—and only you—about my abandonment of my Pokémon. I could have told Warren—a guy I had known far longer than I had known you—but I was comfortable around you. I liked having you around with me on my journeys. I liked having someone who still had confidence in me, even when I didn't in myself."

"Niko, everything you've said about me…I feel about you, too."

"Guess we're just made for each other?" Niko said with a shrug. He wasn't being entirely serious—after all, how does one truly know for certain if they're made for someone? —but he knew Charlotte meant something special to him, and he wanted to keep it that way.

The two hugged, and continued recalling moments when they tried to get the other's attention in a romantic way—hand holding, blushes, bright smiles, and even the time they got trapped in a blizzard—late into the night. To Niko, it was the best night he had had in a long time.

* * *

"Welcome to the annual Kalos Champion's League!" An announcer with an unfamiliar voice said through the microphone. "Every year, the winner of the Lumiose Conference gets a chance to take on the Champion's League—a set of four matches with the Elite 4. This year's winner, Niko from Pallet Town, accepted the offer, and will begin his match against Malva of the Elite 4!"

Charlotte, Warren, Sydney, JJ, Jake, Brittany, Daisy, and Emily all sat in the stands as the battlefield began to rise. It was a circular battlefield with transparent flooring and two holes on each side of the field. Fire sat underneath the flooring. There was black pattern of lines and circles in a symmetrical formation running along the battlefield. Once it set in place, a line of fire briefly ran around the circumference of the field.

Malva stood on the other end of it as Niko entered the field. As he did, twin streams of fire erupted from the circular holes on each end of the battlefield. Niko took a brief step back in surprise, but steeled himself. He was in the Champion's League now. He had to be ready for anything.

"This will be a six-on-six Pokémon battle. The winner will be declared when the other opponent's full team of Pokémon are unable to battle," the referee—a young man in a uniformed suit—stated.

Lauren watched the match from Battle Island. Wulfric and his collection of Pokémon watched from Pokémon Village. Every gym leader in the Kalos region also tuned in. In the President's box Bonnie, Clemont, and Ash all sat there watching.

"You may begin!"

"Pyroar, I choose you!" Malva shouted, summoning a familiar lioness-like Pokémon.

"Boldore, let's go!" Niko shouted.

The Champion's League had begun.

* * *

 **Author's Note: A lot to unpack in this episode, but it's all just preparation for the next few. I won't say how many episodes there are left, since it'll spoil the ending, but let's just say I plan on finishing this season up on Wednesday or Thursday, depending on how many episodes I want to throw on this website every day between now and then. Regardless, I hope y'all enjoyed!**


	52. Into the fire

**Episode 52: Into the fire**

"Pyroar, use wild charge!"

"Boldore, stealth rock!" Niko commanded. The Ore Pokémon summoned pointed rocks everywhere, littering the field with them before taking the wild charge head-on. Both Pokémon winced from the attack, but Niko needed to act fast. "Rock slide!"

"Dodge and use hyper voice!" Malva commanded. The Pyroar leapt backwards and roared out loudly, shattering the rocks raining down in the space between. "Now, flamethrower!"

"Stone edge!" Niko shouted. Just as Boldore was getting pelted by hot shards of rock, he slammed one of his feet onto the ground, forcing pointed stones to erupt out of it and hit Pyroar, who was knocked backwards and then on its side. "Rock slide!"

"Get up and use wild charge!" Malva said, adjusting her glasses. The Royal Pokémon charged forward, electricity flaring everywhere. It crashed into Boldore, dodging the rock slide again.

"Stone edge! Fight through the pain, Boldore!" Niko shouted, realizing that the Ore Pokémon must be taking quite the hit from such an experienced opponent. Boldore quickly slammed down his foot, launching Pyroar into the air with stone edge. "Rock slide!"

"Hyper voice!" Malva commanded. Pyroar attempted to loudly roar and once again break the rock slide, but failed to do so, and was buried underneath the rocks. "Get up, Pyroar!"

"Boldore, stone edge!" Niko said calmly. Boldore, for the third time, slammed his foot on the battlefield, releasing pointed stones from the ground and striking Pyroar, who had just gotten out from underneath the rocks, and collapsed.

"Pyroar is unable to battle, Boldore is the winner! Malva will now summon her second Pokémon!"

"Pyroar, return. Humph. Blaziken, I choose you!" she shouted angrily. As soon as the Blaze Pokémon entered the field, the pointed stones struck it, causing it to collapse to a knee, but only briefly. "Use high jump kick!"

"Boldore, smack down!" Niko commanded. Boldore summoned a golden orb with a pointed rock in the middle and fired it off towards Blaziken, who dodged the attack and, its knee glowing bright white, slammed it into Boldore, launching him across the field, past Niko, and into the wall of the tunnel behind them.

Fortunately, the Ore Pokémon was able to get back up and, on Niko's command, use stone edge, to which Blaziken dodged and, as soon as Boldore was on the field again, used blaze kick to slam its opponent to the side.

"Sky uppercut!" Malva commanded. Blaziken shot off again to strike Boldore, this time with its clawed fist, hitting Boldore's underside and throwing it high into the air. "Now, hi jump kick!"

"Boldore, smack down!" Niko looked up and said, watching Boldore fall from high above him. Then Blaziken jumped higher, somersaulted, and slammed its foot on top of Boldore, rocketing him into the ground, where he lay in defeat.

"Boldore is unable to battle Blaziken is the winner!" the referee declared. "Niko will now summon his second Pokémon!"

"Kadabra, I choose you!" Niko shouted, summoning the psi Pokémon. "Use psycho cut!"

"Dodge and use blaze kick!" Malva commanded. The Blaze Pokémon turned to Kadabra and shot forward, its foot ablaze as it skillfully dodged the blades composed of psychic energy.

"Teleport!" Niko shouted.

"It still knows that?" JJ asked. When everyone looked at him in confusion, he explained. "Kadabra, as an Abra, was Niko's second catch…ever, after Pidgey. Niko caught him on a whim when he was teleporting everywhere. I'm surprised he still uses that move."

"It clearly saved him here, though," Warren said, thoroughly impressed.

"Future sight!" Niko shouted to Kadabra, who was behind Blaziken and on another end of the field, near one of the end that shot out columns of fire. Kadabra raised its spoon into the air and fired off several electrified psychic objects into wormholes above, in the middle of the field, while Blaziken shot off again towards the Psi Pokémon, this time to use flare blitz. "Teleport again!"

"STOP DOING THAT!" Malva shouted at Niko, who simply shrugged. "Blaziken, flare blitz again!"

"Kadabra, psychic!" Niko commanded. His eyes began to glow as he briefly took control of Blaziken, thrusting it to the side and slamming it into the ground. "Now, psycho cut!" Kadabra, using its spoon to slash through the air, fired off a series of small, psychic blades at Blaziken, who took the first few before successfully moving out of the way and charged towards Kadabra again, its body entirely on fire. "Teleport!" Niko said as he heard Malva scream again in frustration.

"Blaze kick!" Malva commanded, likely wishing her Pokémon knew an attack that wasn't physical. Blaziken charged at Kadabra once more and, in a surprise twist, the Psi Pokémon didn't retaliate by teleporting. He stood completely still, which the exception of using psycho cut.

Niko was just as confused. Did Kadabra know something he didn't? Likely so, it was one of his smartest Pokémon. The Psi Pokémon fired off psychic blades at Blaziken, who blocked all of them with blaze kick, before the latter attacked former with flare blitz.

Just as Blaziken made contact with Kadabra for the first time, the wormholes opened again and fired down on both of them, but primarily Blaziken, who was thrust into the ground. Kadabra also got caught in this and, amidst the smoke that erupted from the impact of future sight, Niko noticed the Psi Pokémon rocketed towards him. His psychic type collapsed onto the ground in defeat. As the dust settled, so did Blaziken.

"Blaziken and Kadabra are both unable to battle! Malva and Niko will send out their third Pokémon!"

"Well done, Kadabra. I'm glad I could put faith in you to do the best thing possible. Shellder, I choose you!"

"Torkoal, you're up!" Malva commanded. "Use stone edge!"

"Shellder, use razor shell!" Niko shouted. The Bivalve Pokémon leapt into the air and fired off a blue-colored shell, likely a copy of itself, at Torkoal, who took the hit as if it were nothing. We'll have to do better than that, Niko thought to himself. "Now, just like we practiced buddy, use hydro pump!"

Shellder opened his shell and fired off a powerful, high-pressured attack at torkoal, who took the hit but responded with stone edge, thrusting pointed stones across the field before they hit Shellder, who narrowly dodged the attack. "Flamethrower!" Malva shouted.

"Hydro pump!" Niko commanded, thrusting his hand forward. Shellder blocked the flamethrower with his own attack. The two streams of elemental energy met in the middle of the field, neither giving in, before Niko got an idea. "Switch to ice beam!"

Shellder obeyed, briefly letting go of hydro pump in favor of ice beam. Now, he was creating a light mist that surrounded the field. Eventually, Torkoal let up on the flamethrower and used flame wheel to run into the mist in search of Shellder.

"Shellder," Niko said, "follow Torkoal."

The Bivalve Pokémon nodded, watching for the Coal Pokémon before making his move. Once the mist disappeared, Niko and Malva found Shellder to be sitting behind Torkoal, who was looking around in confusion.

"Now! Use clamp! On the top hole!" Niko shouted. Shellder leapt into action on an unsuspecting Torkoal, landing down on the hole at the top of its hole, refusing to let go as the Coal Pokémon tried to shake it off. "Now, hydro pump!"

Shellder fired off the high-pressured attack into Torkoal, causing it to roar out and for steam to emit from each and every other hole on the shell. When it was finished, Shellder unclamped himself and slide off of the shell as Torkoal collapsed onto the ground in defeat.

"Torkoal is unable to battle, Shellder is the winner!" the referee declared. "Malva will now use her fourth Pokémon!"

"Impressive," JJ said. "Niko's now taken down three of an Elite 4's Pokémon. He's never come close to that before.

"He also hasn't had access to his reserves like this," Brittany added. "Usually it's with Pokémon he's been training regionally. Shellder and Kadabra have had nearly six years with Niko. They've only been getting stronger."

JJ nodded in agreement.

"Chandelure, I choose you!" Malva shouted, summoning a familiar-looking chandelier-esque Pokémon. "Use shadow ball!"

"Shellder, block it with ice beam!" Niko commanded. Shellder fired off a stream of ice before shifting out of the way and jumping down the way towards his new opponent, hoping to repeat his battle with Torkoal. "Hydro pump!"

"Flamethrower!" Malva shouted. Like with Torkoal before, the fire and water attacks collided midway between the two Pokémon. However, Niko quickly realized that Chandelure's was far more powerful, at least enough to override the hydro pump and strike Shellder, sending him flying backwards. "Shadow ball!"

With a quick spectral sphere, Chandelure ended Shellder's run in the Elite 4. The Bivalve Pokémon, upon taking the hit, collapsed onto the ground in defeat.

"Shellder is unable to battle, Chandelure is the winner!" the referee declared. "Niko will now use his fourth Pokémon!"

"They've each lost three now," Jake said. "This is gonna be close, I bet."

"Niko will win, though," Charlotte said, "that's for sure."

"Prinplup, I choose you!" Niko shouted, summoning the Penguin Pokémon. "Water pulse!"

"Shadow ball!" Malva commanded. Both Pokémon fired off elemental spheres, each colliding the middle of the field. Chandelure fired off a second one that was quick enough to strike Prinplup, bringing him to a knee. "Flamethrower!"

"Hydro pump!" Niko shouted, not wanting to believe that Prinplup's hydro pump was any weaker than Shellder's. He was correct in this assessment, and Prinplup managed to at least keep Chandelure in a stalemate as long as the two attacks were going at the same time. "Now, drill peck!"

"Confuse ray!" Malva commanded. Chandelure's eyes began to glow as yellow rings emitted from them, striking Prinplup, who used drill peck on the ground, shattering his own attack.

"Huh?" Niko said. "Prinplup, use hydro pump!"

The Penguin Pokémon fired off hydro pump, but into the air, completely missing Chandelure, who fired off a flamethrower to knock him off of his feet.

"Shadow ball!" Malva commanded, thrusting her own hand forward. The Luring Pokémon threw several spectral balls at Prinplup who, in his confused state of mind, struggled to even realize where he was.

"This is an unusually powerful confuse ray," Jake commented.

"Well, it's an Elite 4 Pokémon. Plus, Chandelure is particularly adept at using 'special moves,' or ones that aren't inherently physical," JJ explained.

"Prinplup, use hydro pump!" Niko shouted, hoping that something would hit. Turns out, once again, the attack missed, hitting nothing in particular. Malva commanded Chandelure to use shadow ball, which ended Prinplup just like it ended Shellder.

"Prinplup is unable to battle, Chandelure is the winner!" the referee declared. "Niko will now use his fifth Pokémon!"

"This battle is moving unusually fast, as well," Sydney said. "Shouldn't the battles be longer, since each Pokémon is stronger?"

"Possibly. But maybe that's why they move faster than an ordinary battle. Plus, each trainer is using a type specialty—Malva with hers, and Niko's to match that," Charlotte said in response.

"Rampardos, I choose you!" Niko shouted. "Let's go buddy! Let's defeat this Chandelure! Use ancientpower!"

"Block them with multiple shadow balls!" Malva commanded. The Luring Pokémon fired off shadow ball after shadow ball before taking a hit from a couple of the ancient rocks thrown by Rampardos, who then followed up with head smash. "Block it with flamethrower!" she said, confidently adjusting her red-shaded glasses again.

Rampardos charged down the fiery battlefield, flames emitted from all around him. If this landed, Niko thought, he could knock out Chandelure in a single hit. However, the Luring Pokémon's flamethrower seemed to be slowing Rampardos down, oddly enough.

"Don't let it get to you, Rampardos! You were made to defeat Chandelure, just like you were made to defeat Hunter's Pokémon!" Niko shouted. Rampardos charged forward, blowing through the flamethrower and striking the Luring Pokémon, directly in the head. Chandelure was rocketed backwards, nearly hitting Malva, and crashed onto the platform its trainer stood on.

"Chandelure is unable to battle, Rampardos is the winner! Malva will now use her fifth Pokémon!" the referee declared.

"Return, Chandelure. Niko, I'll admit this, even though I loathe the idea of it—you're good. Very good. But it is my duty to end your run in the Champion's League, here and now. Talonflame, I choose you!"

As soon as the Scorching Pokémon entered the field, Niko noticed small flames emitting off of Rampardos' body. He was burned. Flame body…Chandelure has it and…so does Talonflame, Niko thought to himself. "Be careful, Rampardos!" Niko said, also remembering that head smash does a lot of damage as well. "Use ancientpower!"

"Talonflame, steel wing!" Malva commanded. The Scorching Pokémon shot down towards its opponent, dodging ancientpower left and right before successfully striking Rampardos, bringing the Head Butt Pokémon to his knee. "Now, flare blitz!"

"Ancientpower!" Niko directed. Rampardos, in a move that was until then foreign to Niko, not only threw the ancientpower, but managed to control the individual rocks, firing each of them after Talonflame, who flew through the air to evade each one before rocketing downwards to strike at Rampardos. "Now, head smash!"

As soon as Talonflame made contact with the Head Butt Pokémon, Rampardos slammed his shiny red skull into the Scorching Pokémon, thrusting it into the ground. Rampardos also winced—from the force he used to issue the attack, and from the burn he received from contacting Chandelure. However, he was successful in defeating his opponent.

"Talonflame is unable to battle, Rampardos is the winner!" the referee declared. "Malva will now use her final Pokémon!"

"We're already at her last one?" Warren said with surprise, echoing his girlfriend's earlier wonder at this.

"Great job, Rampardos," Niko said with a genuine smile. This Pokémon, who had gone through more trauma than any of his other Pokémon while under Niko's care, had now successfully defeated two Elite 4-level Pokémon. That was an accomplishment they could both be proud of. "Let's keep it up, defeat this last Pokémon, and move on to the next match, eh?"

Rampardos nodded. However, Malva didn't seem to agree.

"Doubtful that you can surpass this Pokémon, Niko. Challengers rarely do. Houndoom, I choose you!" Malva shouted, summoning a black-colored hound Pokémon with bones running along its back, neck, and horns. It's tail was pointed like a devil's.

"We'll see about that," Niko said, nodding to Rampardos. "Use ancientpower!"

"Inferno!" Malva commanded and, in a single, brief move, Houndoom fired off a powerful jet of fire at Rampardos, blowing past the ancientpower and striking the Head Butt Pokémon, knocking him to the ground. Rampardos then lit up on fire: the burn was doing more damage. "Faint attack!"

Houndoom quickly disappeared from the field before slamming into Rampardos from the side. In retaliation, Rampardos used head smash. However, just before the attack hit, Malva shouted for Houndoom to use foul play. Houndoom dodged the attack and, a transparent aura surrounding it, spun back around and slammed into Rampardos, rocketing the heavy Pokémon across the field.

"What the…?" Niko said in surprise.

"Faint attack!" Malva commanded. Houndoom then traversed the field quickly, slamming into Rampardos once more, causing the rock type to collapse onto the ground.

"Ancientpower!" Niko shouted. Houndoom once more dodged the attack.

Malva then touched a Key Stone from her earring, causing it to react to the one around Houndoom's neck. The Dark Pokémon began to transform, the ridges on its back thickened, and it gained additional, bone-like rings around the base of its tail. The rings had small spikes on top, making them look like vertebrae. The ridge at the base of its neck was longer and curved forward towards its shoulders. Instead of a band with a skull pendant, there was a large, toothed structure around its neck. This bone-like formation had two large spikes on either side and three pointed teeth on the bottom. Its horns pointed straight up with a small, outward curve in the middle. The two bands on its hind legs vanished, and those on its forelegs were broken in the front.

"Inferno!" Malva commanded. Now, the attack was far more powerful, with the fire turning a bright blue, and completely engulfing Rampardos. The Head Butt Pokémon collapsed onto the ground in defeat.

"Rampardos is unable to battle, Houndoom is the winner! Niko will now use his sixth and final Pokémon!" the referee declared.

"Geez…what can Niko do now?" Warren asked.

"Win the match," Charlotte said dryly.

"Well, yes, but—"

"He'll win."

"Clawitzer, it's up to you!" Niko shouted, summoning the Howitzer Pokémon. "Use water pulse!"

"Block it with flamethrower!" Malva commanded. The Mega Houndoom fired off a stream of blue fire at Clawitzer, whose mega launcher fired off a powerful water pulse that, at the very least, put the flamethrower at bay. "Faint attack!"

"Dragon pulse!" Niko commanded. He didn't want to try hitting Houndoom directly, knowing exactly what foul play did. Clawitzer was hit by Mega Houndoom's faint attack, but fired off a close-range dragon pulse to put the Dark Pokémon down. "Now, water pulse!"

"Flamethrower!" Malva commanded. Mega Houndoom fired off a powerful jet of fire directly on top of Clawitzer, who in turn struck the Dark Pokémon with a high-pressured water pulse that pushed it back several feet. Niko felt the heat emanating from the battle—it was terribly warm. "Keep it up!"

"Crabhammer!" Niko commanded. Clawitzer's massive claw began to glow, and he used it to protect himself from the blue flames. "Now, slam it into the ground and use it to jump into the air!" He was not sure if this would work, but it was worth trying. Clawitzer could—and would—be willing to take a small risk. "Now, water pulse!" Niko shouted as Clawitzer launched himself into the air and spun himself over Mega Houndoom. He then fired off a water pulse from his large claw, hitting his opponent and rocketing him even higher into the air while Mega Houndoom collapsed onto the ground. "Now, crabhammer again!"

Using gravity to quicken his descent, Clawitzer charged downwards at Mega Houndoom, his claw glowing light blue. He was met with a stream of blue flames, but shot right through them and successfully landed on top of Mega Houndoom.

"WATER PULSE!" Niko shouted. Once Clawitzer landed he fired off another one at close range, launching himself back into the air and forcing Mega Houndoom into the ground once more. Clawitzer then gracefully managed to land on the ground while his opponent struggled to get back up.

Mega Houndoom did, indeed, get back up, if only to use faint attack. However, Clawitzer was able to take the hit, and responded by quickly slamming a crabhammer into the side of the Dark Pokémon's body, launching it sideways and onto the ground, where it couldn't get back up.

"Houndoom is unable to battle, Clawitzer is the winner!" the referee declared. "The victory goes to Niko from Pallet Town!"

"YES!" Warren and JJ shouted simultaneously. Charlotte nodded approvingly, and the others clapped and cheered along with the relatively smaller crowd that gathered for this.

In a variety of other locations Wally, Oliver, Ian, and Lauren all cheered as well. Their rival was doing better than any of them had ever hoped.

Niko was doing better than he had hoped. In a rare moment, Clawitzer showed a joyful expression, floating over to Niko and tackling him to the ground, pinching his trainer's side with his small claw.

"Ow!" Niko said, still laughing nonetheless. "Heh, thanks buddy. I'm really proud of you. I want you to know that."

Clawitzer nodded, also looking and likely feeling just as happy.

Malva then approached Niko and Clawitzer. "Congrats. As much as I hate to lose, especially to young kids like yourself, that was a good battle. You surprised me a few times, and you deserve the victory. The next match will be against Siebold, tomorrow at the same time in this stadium. Be ready."

Niko nodded. "Will do. Thanks for the battle," he then held out his hand. Malva looked at it, and then reluctantly shook his, adjusting her glasses. As she turned away, Niko noticed a slightly smirk on her face.

* * *

"Siebold uses water types, right?" Jake asked. Niko then nodded as he munched on a sandwich. "You can easily counter those."

"True, but I could easily counter fire types, too. And it was still a difficult battle for me," Niko said truthfully.

"It seemed to go by fast for us—did it for you?" Sydney wondered.

"It varied for me. Like, when I had Rampardos out it all went like a blur, but most of the battle was slow-paced for me. Not as slow as against Ian or Oliver, though. Those were really long battles."

"Well, hopefully you can defeat Siebold," Brittany said.

"Oh, I think I can. I already have some Pokémon in mind. I have plenty of grass and electric types that can counter multiple types of attacks."

"Also, Niko," Charlotte said, catching his attention, "we should make time to talk to Professor Sycamore about your experiences with mega evolution, whenever we get a chance."

"Oh, absolutely. I'd like to know why I almost fainted after beating Oliver," Niko said, cringing a little at the thought. "That…wasn't a fun experience for me. But it was worth it."

"Of course. I'd just like for that to, well, not happen again," Charlotte said with a concerned expression.

"I know. Thanks, Charlotte."

That night, Niko lay in his bed, wondering about the amount of time he had spent so far in Lumiose City. This had gone on for quite some time now—the suite he was in almost felt like home. And, depending on how successful he was, he could be here for several more days. He also found himself impressed—and honored—by his friends and family sticking through it with him. Some of them, like Sydney and Emily, had stayed through all of it despite having jobs to go to. If there was ever a time to be thankful, it was in that moment. He had to make it worth it for them, he thought. That became just as important as winning, and he had to keep it in mind when he faced Siebold and the other two Elites.

He then looked over at Charlotte, who was soundly sleeping in the bed across from him. Niko also had to keep going to give her hope, and inspiration, as she had done for him.

Niko wasn't just fighting for himself anymore. As a trainer on the rise, the responsibility to others became more important than he had ever expected. Whether he could rise to the challenge was entirely up to him.

* * *

 **Author's Note: I may or may not spam this story with the rest of the season tomorrow. Again, won't say how many more episodes, but it could very well end tomorrow. Just pointing that out so your inbox isn't just losing its mind or anything. Enjoy!**


	53. A recipe for victory

**Episode 53: A recipe for victory**

"And now, for the second round of the Champion's League! Last night, Niko from Pallet Town, and winner of the Lumiose Conference, defeated Malva of the Kalos Elite 4 and has earned the right to challenge the next in line—Siebold! Niko has thus far given us some pretty heated and exciting battles to watch, will this one be any different?"

"This will be a six-on-six Pokémon battle. The winner will be declared when they have defeated their opponent's full party of Pokémon. Either trainer may substitute Pokémon. You may begin when ready."

"Heh, I definitely remember you know, Niko," Siebold said, looking up and across the field at his opponent. His battlefield was similar to Malva's—circular, and with two columns on the sides, only they were held up by chains with two disks that resembled razor blades instead of just columns of fire. Instead of having a transparent, glassy floor, the battlefield was actually a shallow pond, with a circular platform in the middle that stood above it.

"As do I. We met on my first day in Kalos," Niko said with a smirk. He then held out a pokéball. "It's an honor to finally battle you."

"Hopefully I can say the same. Walrein, I choose you!"

"Venusaur, you're up!" Niko shouted, summoning the Seed Pokémon. "Walrein, eh? We can take that," he said, sizing up the Ice Break Pokémon. He then felt his Key Stone warm up. Are we ready to immediately mega evolve? Niko wondered. Venusaur simply nodded, not bothering to look back at his trainer. "Alright, then. Venusaur, mega evolve!"

"He's mega evolving so soon?" Warren said. "But…what if it exhausts him too much?" he turned to Charlotte, who simply shrugged. She couldn't quite understand why Niko was doing this, either.

"He won't," Fay said, without explaining his reasoning.

Venusaur quickly transformed, clearly impressing Siebold, who raised an eyebrow.

"Fair enough. The Champion's League allows you to use whichever Pokémon you think are best. It is my job as an Elite to be able to handle anything. Walrein, use blizzard!"

"Frenzy plant!" Niko commanded, feeling surge of energy course through him. He wasn't about to let mega evolution bring him down. Not now. Mega Venusaur roared out, causing, spiked roots to erupt from under the battlefield and strike at Walrein, who responded by quickly freezing all of them. Niko suddenly felt cold—as if he were connected to the roots, or Venusaur was, and by association Niko as well. "P-p-petal bl-blizzard!"

"VENUS!" Venusaur roared, summoning a vortex of pink petals towards Walrein, who shifted out of the way by moving through the shallow water.

"Hail!" Siebold commanded. Suddenly, the battlefield began to get colder and, surprisingly, not freezing the shallow pond. Then, just as suddenly, Walrein began to emit a light, transparent aura. "Heh, ice body. It heals the user in a hailstorm. Walrein, use blizzard!"

"Venusaur, solarbeam!" Niko shouted, knowing fully well it would take time to use the attack. Mega Venusaur and Niko both felt a cold, piercing feeling all around their bodies as the blizzard struck them. Just as it stopped, Niko noticed the solarbeam was ready. "FIRE!"

"VE-NUS!" Mega Venusaur cried out, firing off a bright green blast of solar energy and striking Walrein directly.

"Don't give it time to relax! Frenzy plant!" Niko commanded, thrusting a palm outwards. Mega Venusaur didn't take any breaks, summoning spiked roots once more that threw themselves at the Ice Break Pokémon, knocking it from side to side before leaving it laying down in the cold, shallow water.

"Walrein is unable to battle, Venusaur is the winner! Siebold will now use his second Pokémon!"

"Walrein, return. I've watched your league battles, Niko, in preparation for this match. That Mega Venusaur of yours is uniquely impressive. I'm glad I got the chance to battle it. Starmie, I choose you!"

"Venusaur, return," Niko said. "Manectric, I choose you!" This'll be interesting.

"Starmie, use dazzling gleam!" Siebold commanded.

"Manectric, use thunder!" Niko commanded. The Discharge Pokémon roared out, summoning a massive bolt of lightning to strike down on Starmie, who quickly used its own attack before getting electrocuted. "Now, wild charge!"

Manectric rushed forward, its body alight with electricity. The pond around it was exploding in reaction before it intended to crash into Starmie, who used psychic to throw it to the side.

"Starmie, use dazzling gleam again!" Siebold commanded. The Mysterious Pokémon summoned a blinding light that, like Slurpuff's, focused concentrated blasts of light that all hit Manectric, pushing the electric type further away. "Now psychic!"

"Discharge!" Niko commanded. Manectric roared out, releasing as much electricity as he possibly could, causing the battlefield to explode. When the smoke settled, Starmie looked unharmed. Huh?

"Light screen," Siebold said. "A tasty move, but only for the right occasion. Starmie, psychic!"

"Discharge again!" Niko commanded. Manectric released more electricity, blocking the psychic attack, somehow, from doing anything. "Now wild charge!"

"Dazzling gleam!" Siebold commanded.

"Fight through it, Manectric! Keep going!" Niko shouted out. The discharge Pokémon roared, dashing off towards Starmie, who fired off several more concentrated beams of light. Manectric skillfully dodged each one before tackling Starmie, launching it across the battlefield. "Use thunder!"

"Light screen!" Siebold commanded. The light screen managed to block—or at least minimize—the thunder's power, but it certainly couldn't stop Manectric from using another wild charge, paralyzing Starmie enough for Niko to then command Manectric to use discharge. Starmie collapsed, face-first, into the shallow pool of water that was getting re-filled due to Manectric's constant usage of electric moves.

"Starmie is unable to battle, Manectric is the winner! Siebold will now use his third Pokémon!" the referee declared.

"Starmie, return. Clawitzer, I choose you!" he shouted.

"Manectric, can you keep going?" Niko wondered. The Discharge Pokémon nodded, although Niko could tell it was breathing heavily. It was not ready for another fight. "Use thunder!"

"Block it with dragon pulse!" Siebold commanded, knowing fully well that Manectric would use the opportunity to use wild charge again. "Now, aura sphere!"

The Howitzer Pokémon fired off a powerful, blue orb of energy at Manectric while he was charging forward, as expected, and ripping up the battlefield in the process. Manectric collided with the attack and was rocketed backwards, collapsing onto the ground directly in front of Niko.

"Manectric is unable to battle, Clawitzer is the winner!" the referee declared. "Niko will now use his next Pokémon!"

"Clawitzer, return as well," Siebold said. "Barbaracle, I choose you!"

"Eelektross, you're up buddy!" Niko commanded. "Use coil!"

"Cross chop!" Siebold commanded. The Collective Pokémon charged down the battlefield, splattering water everywhere, as he crossed two of its four arms and aimed directly for Eelektross, who was wrapping himself up in anticipation of the attack. Barbaracle landed it, but in return Eelektross leapt into action, wrapping himself around Barbaracle and using thunderbolt. "Use x-scissor!"

"Eelektross, dodge and use charge beam!" Niko commanded. Eelektross leapt off of Barbaracle and, whilst still in midair, fired off a stream of electric energy at the back of his opponent, knocking it forward. "Now, wild charge!"

Eelektross dropped out of the air, electricity flaying about it, before the EleFish Pokémon collided with his opponent, who retaliated by smacking it to the side. Eelektross quickly reeled from the attack and coiled himself again, waiting to strike.

"Interesting strategy, Niko," Siebold said, "this recipe is very, for lack of a better term, electrifying. Well done. Barbaracle, use stone edge!"

"Eelektross, dodge!" Niko commanded. The EleFish Pokémon shot to the right, moving out of the way of the pointed stones erupting towards him. "Now, charge beam!"

"Barbaracle, use stone edge!" Siebold commanded, successfully blocking the attack. "Now, use x-scissor!"

"Wild charge!" Niko commanded. Eelektross burst off of the ground, hovering over the water, sparks all around it. It collided with Barbaracle and immediately wrapped himself around it, taking the x-scissor attack in the process. "Thunderbolt!"

Barbaracle roared out as the electricity surged through its body. Eelektross then let go, allowing the Collective Pokémon to collapse face-first into the water in defeat.

"Barbaracle is unable to battle, Eelektross is the winner!" the referee declared. "Siebold will now use his next Pokémon!"

"Return, Eelektross," Niko said, waiting on his opponent to do the same.

"Gyarados, go!" Siebold commanded, summoning a familiar-looking atrocious Pokémon.

"Magneton, I choose you!" Niko shouted. "Use thunderbolt!"

"Dragon dance!" Siebold commanded. Niko nodded, realizing how quickly he needed to take this thing out. He disliked dragon dance, for a few reasons. The thunderbolt ripped through the red aura surrounding the sea dragon, electrocuting it. Magneton then stood completely still, to prepare a zap cannon on Niko's command. "Use earthquake!"

"Magneton, hold tight…" Niko said. "We can do this, just don't…don't give up, buddy."

The Magnet Pokémon winced as it felt the earth shaking underneath it, clearly unsettling it. However, it finally was ready to fire, and did so. With a massive crackling sound, the zap cannon struck, firing across the field and causing the battlefield to again explode. Amidst the smoke, Gyarados still stood. It seemed like the Atrocious Pokémon had dodged the attack.

"Blast it!" Niko shouted. "Magneton, magnet bomb!"

"Gyarados, waterfall!" Siebold commanded. The sea dragon forced a column of water to fall down in front of it to protect from the glowing gray magnet bombs hurled at it. "Now, earthquake again!"

"Rise into the air and use thunderbolt!" Niko commanded. Magneton nodded, launching itself into the air and, spinning around to gather electricity, fired off a bolt of thunder at its opponent, who skillfully dodged it once again. Then Niko got an idea.

"Zap cannon!" Niko commanded. "Directly below you!"

"Ah, I've seen that before. Gyarados, use dragon dance!" Siebold commanded.

The two trainers waited for Magneton's zap cannon to complete and, when it did, Siebold ordered Gyarados to use waterfall. The Atrocious Pokémon conjured a column of water to collapse on Magneton in an attempt to disrupt the attack.

As it turned out, there wasn't much Siebold could have done to block this move. The zap cannon roared towards the ground, shattering the raised platform directly below Magneton and causing the entire field to explode. Gyarados had nowhere to run. When the smoke cleared, and Magneton was still standing, Gyarados collapsed to the ground.

"Gyarados is unable to battle, Magneton is the winner! Siebold will now use his next Pokémon!" the referee declared.

"Gyarados, return," Siebold said, sighing. "This is not how I planned for it to go, Niko. But that is fine. I will still eliminate each of your Pokémon in turn. Clawitzer, I choose you!"

"Magneton, return," Niko said. "Eelektross, you're up! Use coil!"

"Dark pulse!" Siebold commanded. The Howitzer Pokémon fired off a nexus of dark energy at Eelektross, who simply took the hit while coiled up. "Now, dragon pulse!"

"Get up and use wild charge!" Niko commanded. Eelektross leapt into action, rocketing down the battlefield, electricity flaring up around it. He collided with the dragon pulse and ripped through it, nearly striking Clawitzer, had the latter not used aura sphere at the last moment, hitting Eelektross and knocking it backwards. "Charge beam!"

"Clawitzer, dark pulse!" Siebold commanded. The two attacks fired off, meeting in the middle of field, and resulting in a stalemate. However, once again, Eelektross came running down the battlefield with wild charge. "Heh, again? Clawitzer, use dragon pulse!"

This time, Eelektross couldn't maintain his attack as long, and was knocked backwards and to the ground by dragon pulse. The EleFish Pokémon tried getting back up, but couldn't.

"Eelektross is unable to battle, Clawitzer is the winner!" the referee declared. "Niko will now use his next Pokémon!"

"Eelektross, return," Niko said. "You did great, buddy. Please rest now. Chesnaught, I choose you! Use seed bomb!"

"Clawitzer, block it with dark pulse!" Siebold commanded. The two attacks ended in a stalemate, with Chesnaught now running down the battlefield. "Aura sphere!"

"Knock it away with needle arm!" Niko shouted. The Spiny Armor Pokémon obliged, his arm glowing bright green as he slammed the attack to the side and continued down, surprising both Siebold and Clawitzer. "Now, needle arm on Clawitzer!"

"Dragon pulse!" Siebold commanded. As Chesnaught was about to bring down his needle arm, as a sword of sorts, the Howitzer Pokémon struck the glowing green arm with a burst of draconic energy, launching Chesnaught backwards.

We need to get that Clawitzer to move…Niko thought to himself, because it's simply not going anywhere. "Chesnaught, use rollout!"

"Clawitzer, halt its advances with dark pulse!" Siebold commanded. Clawitzer fired off a dark nexus of energy at the Spiny Armor Pokémon, who continued to shift and move out of the way before leaping forward and crashing into the Howitzer Pokémon. "Dragon pulse!"

"Seed bomb!" Niko shouted. Both attacks fired off, repelling both of them backwards. Chesnaught landed on the ground, skidding to a stop right in front of Niko. "Let's win this, buddy. Use needle arm!"

"Clawitzer, use dragon pulse!" Siebold shouted. Clawitzer released another attack from its massive claw, striking Chesnaught before he could get even halfway down the battlefield. The Spiny Armor Pokémon collapsed, dropping face-first into the shallow water. He slowly got back up—he wasn't yet out of the fight. "Hmm, quite some Pokémon you've got there."

"Chesnaught doesn't give up," Niko said. "Not anymore. Chesnaught, use needle arm!"

"Dragon pulse!"

"Spin around and use spiky shield!" Niko commanded. Chesnaught skidded to a stop in the ankle-high water and spun around, using his shell as a protective barrier from the draconic energy. It seemed to work out successfully enough, and the Spiny Armor Pokémon got back up to continue it charge towards the Howitzer Pokémon. "Needle arm!"

"Aura sphere!" Siebold commanded. Clawitzer fired off an aura sphere, only to be blocked once more by Chesnaught's needle arm. "Dark pulse!"

"Needle arm!" Niko commanded. Chesnaught finally got close enough to landing, but this time instead of Clawitzer retaliating by striking its arm, the Howitzer Pokémon hit Chesnaught's leg, causing the grass type to fall forward onto it.

"Dragon pulse!" Siebold commanded. Chesnaught was rocketed backwards, spinning and rolling through the air before crashing in front of Niko.

"Chesnaught is unable to battle, Clawitzer is the winner!" the referee declared.

"Return, Chesnaught. You helped me come up with a way to beat this thing. Thanks," Niko said, looking appreciatively at the pokéball before exchanging it. "Magneton, you're up!"

"Clawitzer, use aura sphere!" Siebold commanded.

"Magneton, block it with magnet bomb!" Niko shouted. "Magneton, prepare zap cannon!" Hopefully this works…

"Again? Niko…" Siebold said, shaking his head in apparent disappointment. "This is a spoiled strategy. You can't cook up victory with it! Clawitzer, use aura sphere!"

"Also use magnet bomb!" Niko shouted, hoping it would work. It did—Magneton walked and chewed gum at the same time! The Magnet Pokémon fired off magnet bombs. Surprised, Niko continued. "Aim for the claw!"

Three magnet bombs fired off, two of them aimed at the aura sphere, and one at the claw. In what amounted to a series of fortunate events, the single magnet bomb lodged itself inside the claw. Siebold and Clawitzer both looked at one another, and then at Magneton, in shock and awe.

"ZAP CANNON!" Niko roared out, punching the air in front of him. Magneton released the powerful move and, like the sound of thunder, zap cannon erupted out, striking a now temporarily disabled Clawitzer, forcing it to collapse onto the ground in defeat.

"Clawitzer is unable to battle, Magneton is the winner!" the referee declared to a now silent stadium.

It was well known that Pokémon could only use one move at a time. The sheer fact that Magneton pulled it off was amazing on its own. That it used it to defeat a Pokémon was equally impressive.

Niko's friends and family sat there in the stands with their jaws on the ground. Warren, who usually had a knack for commentating, had no words. It was incredible.

Niko himself let out a breath of relief. "Well done, Magneton. I knew you could do it."

The Magnet Pokémon turned to Niko and buzzed wildly, an indication of its happiness.

"Return, Clawitzer. Niko, that was something else. Well done. You have now brought me down to my last Pokémon. My ace—my strongest. If you can defeat this, you deserve to move on. Blastoise, I choose you!"

The Shellfish Pokémon that came out of Siebold's final pokéball was different than ones Niko usually encountered. It was wearing a harness on its head with a mega stone on the front.

"Magneton, be careful. We have the advantage, but we don't know what its capable of," Niko said cautiously.

"Let's just move to the main dish already," Siebold said, clutching his frilly blue tie. "Blastoise, unleash your potential! Mega evolve!"

A light erupted from Siebold's Key Stone, reacting to the Blastiosinite. The Shellfish Pokémon began to transform, eventually growing larger. It developed two smaller shells over its arms, each with their own water cannon. The two cannons on its back were replaced by a single, central water cannon of greater size. This cannon extended forward over its head. Small ridges developed over its, now red, eyes and extended to its ears. The ears angled slightly backward and there is a small point on its chin.

"Magneton, use thunderbolt!" Niko commanded.

"Blastoise, use hydro pump!" Siebold shouted. The two attacks collided in the middle of the field. Magneton then, as soon as the smoke disappeared, began charging up zap cannon. "Dragon pulse!"

"Sonicboom!" Niko commanded, trying to replicate his previously impossible strategy. Magneton clearly tried, but couldn't succeed, instead allowing the dragon pulse to strike it. Magneton rocketed through the sky, nearly hitting the stands before collapsing onto the ground. It slowly got back up, amazingly enough. "Heh, that's right. Magneton, use magnet bomb!"

"Block it with dragon pulse!" Siebold commanded. While Mega Blastoise dealt with this, Magneton shifted to the side of the field.

"Up close thunderbolt!" Niko shouted. If Magneton was going down, it was going down at least damaging this opponent. Magneton charged forward, the trio of magnets spinning as they conjured electricity and crashed into Mega Blastoise. The Shellfish Pokémon fired off a hydro pump that resulted in a powerful explosion, launching both of them backwards. However, having sustained damage from two previous battles, Magneton collapsed into the shallow water, unable to continue.

"Magneton is unable to battle, Blastoise is the winner! Niko will now use his next Pokémon!" the referee declared.

I've still got Venusaur if I need him. But I'd rather not risk nearly fainting. This Blastoise is tougher than Greninja was, Niko said to himself. "Torterra, I choose you!"

"Ah, Blastoise, use dragon pulse!"

"Leaf storm!" Niko commanded. The Continent Pokémon whipped up a vortex of leaves that seemed to, at least, diminish the damage done by dragon pulse. "Now, energy ball!"

"Hydro pump!" Siebold commanded. Torterra fired off several energy balls at his opponent, each of them coming up against the high-pressured jet of water.

"Earthquake!" Niko commanded. Torterra shook the ground underneath him and his opponent, causing Mega Blastoise to stumble slightly before getting onto a single knee and holding itself in place. "Leaf storm!"

"Skull bash!" Siebold commanded. Mega Blastoise tucked its head and limbs inside and shot off towards Torterra, who used leaf storm in retaliation.

The two Pokémon struck, with Torterra taking the brunt of the attack. Mega Blastoise jumped out of its shell and used, on Siebold's command, power-up punch, slamming a powerful fist down onto Torterra's head, causing it to collapse into the ground. In response, Torterra fired off leaf storm from the tree on his back, engulfing Mega Blastoise. The two merely stood there for a moment, both of them waiting on their trainers.

"Dragon pulse!" Siebold commanded.

"Crunch!" Niko shouted, remembering how strong Torterra's jaw actually was. The Continent Pokémon reached forward and bit down on Mega Blastoise's hand, causing the Shellfish Pokémon to misfire the dragon pulse. "Now energy ball!"

"TERRA!" Torterra roared out, firing off the sphere of pure energy at his opponent. Mega Blastoise was launched backwards as leaf storm quickly followed, bringing it to its knees.

"Earthquake!"

"Dragon pulse!"

Both attacks struck their respective targets with everything they had. Niko kept shouting for Torterra to not give up, and it clearly didn't, continuously forcing the battlefield into a chaotic state of shock, and knocking over Mega Blastoise in the process. Seeing his opponent fall, Torterra was immediately stricken by his own exhaustion, and collapsed as well.

"Blastoise and Torterra are both unable to battle! Since Niko still has one Pokémon remaining, he is the victor!"

Niko quickly waded through the shallow pool to see Torterra. "Excellent job, buddy. I'm so proud of you for sticking through it. We can advance now because of you, and the others who also competed. Thanks."

Torterra briefly nodded before collapsing onto the ground. Niko returned the Continent Pokémon and, as he stood up, saw Siebold and Blastoise standing behind him.

The Elite held out his hand. "That was a well-crafted battle. Niko, Pokémon battling is a form of art. While yours wasn't particularly stylish, it was succinct and effective. I've learned, over the years, to find more appreciation for that type of battling. So, congrats. Your next opponent will be Drasna, tomorrow at the same time."

Niko returned the handshake. "Thank you, Siebold. It was a pleasure battling you."

"Likewise."

* * *

"Dragons now, eh?" Sydney said. "You've always had difficulty with those, right?"

Niko nodded, with all of his former travelling companions backing him up on this. "Yup, but I think I can beat Drasna. I have enough counters for dragon types, plus I have one of my own."

"Well, after this and it gets a little easier, right?" Warren asked. "Because that would leave Wikstrom, who uses steel types."

"Right, I can handle those for sure," Niko said with a smirk. He then looked down at his dinner, reflecting on the battle he just had. Just then, Charlotte touched his arm. "Hmm?"

"You didn't use Venusaur very much, did you?"

"No, using him first was intentional. Mega evolving immediately wasn't. But it's weird…remember when Siebold's Walrein used hail? I felt the coldness that Venusaur felt. When he used blizzard on Venusaur's frenzy plant, I felt that too!"

"Odd. I mean, normally you'd probably get a chill from your opponent using hail under normal conditions, but it sounds like it was a different feeling this time."

"It was, Charlotte," Niko said. "I'd like to go visit Professor Sycamore, either tomorrow before I battle Drasna, or after. It doesn't make a difference to me."

"How about before, then? Do you plan on using Venusaur?" Charlotte asked.

"No. He needs to save up his energy in case we make it all the way. Plus, I already have a team in mind for Drasna."

"Then let's just go tomorrow and see what Sycamore has to say."

"Yeah, we can help your Pokémon train in the meantime!" Jake offered. "I have a dragon or two that can act as practice battlers!"

"I'll help, too. I brought Kingdra and Dragonair with me," Fay added.

Niko smiled. "Thanks, Jake, Fay. I appreciate that," he said back in his seat, feeling ready for the upcoming battle. It would be, without a doubt, the toughest one yet, at least as far as the Champion's League is concerned. It might even be the toughest battle Niko has ever had to face. That, however, remained to be seen.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Another milestone reached during this league-this season is now officially the longest by word count! Next episode: Niko vs. Drasna!**


	54. The Blood-Soaked Crescent

**Episode 54: The Blood-Soaked Crescent**

"Niko! Charlotte! Warren! And…?" Professor Sycamore said as he opened the front door to his lab.

"Hi, I'm Brittany. I used to travel with Niko."

"JJ. Same," JJ said, shaking Sycamore's hand.

"And ah, Fay! Oak's assistant. Welcome as well!" Sycamore said pleasantly.

"Long time no see, Professor," Fay said with a warm smile.

"Well, what can I do for you all? Shouldn't you be preparing for your battle with Drasna?" Sycamore wondered.

"Actually, Professor, I was wondering if I could talk to you about something," Niko said, "if you have the time."

"Of course! I was just finishing up some research before heading to the stadium. What's going on?" Sycamore asked, letting the five trainers inside and into a lounge area where they all sat down. He served up some tea before sitting down and looking directly at Niko.

"So, it's about mega evolution…" Niko began, explaining his initial difficulties with mega evolving Venusaur. Then he went into how he found the Aggronite in Terminus Cave before detailing how exhausted he felt after mega evolving Venusaur and Aggron in the same day, and then the following day when he nearly fainted. Charlotte and the others pitched in whenever necessary, but it seemed like Sycamore understood.

He was silent for some time, trying to think this through. "It's an odd mixture of two different abilities, the way I see it. The first ability is to simply mega evolve. We know two things about mega evolution—that it requires a strong bond between trainer and Pokémon, and that Pokémon can sense their particular mega stone. You've clearly exhibited both of those traits, Niko."

"What's the second?" Brittany asked.

"The second ability is something called Bond Phenomenon. Are you familiar with it?" they all shook their heads. "Bond Phenomenon is a transformation that affects specific types of Pokémon. It is different from mega evolution or primal reversion—another type of temporary evolution that only three Pokémon are known to go through. There is only one documented case of Bond Phenomenon, and it started here, in this lab."

"Really?" Niko wondered.

"Yes. With a Froakie that I used to own. It went to this incredibly capable, caring trainer named Ash. That Froakie, throughout his journey, evolved into a Greninja. However, after that the bond between Ash and Greninja continued to grow, eventually allowing Greninja to evolve further, in a process very similar to mega evolution. But that is not why I bring this up.

"Ash and Greninja's bond was close enough that they saw everything as one—their senses were one, and their nerves were one. When Greninja—then called Ash-Greninja—got injured in battle, Ash felt it. When he began practicing it—trying to understand this power—he nearly fainted on more than a few occasions."

"So, what're you saying exactly?" Warren wondered.

"I'm saying Niko might have a similar connection with mega evolution. You've successfully mega evolved two Pokémon now, correct?" Niko nodded. "Have you felt a similar level of exhaustion?"

"More so with Venusaur than with Aggron," Niko said, remembering how he felt when Aggron fainted versus when Venusaur nearly fainted.

"Hmm…alright then. So I maned my initial theory. Your abilities are based in part on how close you are with that particular Pokémon. Essentially Niko, you have an ability just as unique as what Ash had, but it's more tied to mega evolution. Charlotte, you've used this before, do you feel the same way?"

"No. But I've only used it once," she stated.

"Right. But there lies the difference—she hasn't. And none of your opponents, all of whom used mega evolution in their battles with you, felt the same way."

"So what does this mean, then? I have some sort of ability, what do I do with it?"

"I'm…not quite sure. I'm merely trying to explain it. But it might enhance the power of your mega-evolved Pokémon more than any Pokémon like them. In other words, your particular Mega Venusaur might be stronger than any other trainer's Mega Venusaur."

"That would explain why it took down Siebold's Pokémon so easily," JJ said. Sycamore nodded in response.

"Exactly. That Mega Venusaur is a force to be reckoned with, if you're able to control the mega evolution energy that you feel."

"So I was right, then," Niko said, causing Sycamore to raise an eyebrow. "I never touch my Key Stone like others do. I get a warm feeling in my chest, and then I feel like I have to mega evolve."

"Interesting. That certainly helps expand the theory more. So, to sum up—you have a strange connection to mega evolution energy that allows you to take advantage of your strengthened bond with your Pokémon in a way other trainers—with the possible exception of one—cannot. On the flipside, you feel their pain, and they feel yours. You're intimately connected. That begs one question: How did you attain this ability? Niko, do you think it's been with you this entire time?"

"No, because I would have sensed other mega stones littered around the world, right?"

"Okay, then let's narrow down the possibilities, then. You said you tried evolving Venusaur before the Pokémon League. When did you do that?"

"In Shalour City," Niko said.

"Did you feel the connection then?"

"Not in the same way. It wasn't anything like this."

"So something must've happened to you between then and now. I'll look into it, and get back to you. Anyway, you have to get going—your battle with Drasna is in a couple of hours."

"I'll look into it with Professor Oak when I get back to Kanto," Fay said before standing up with Niko and the others.

Niko nodded, standing up with his friends. "Thanks, Professor. I really appreciate it!"

"Anytime, Niko. Please, if you need anything else, let me know."

Niko shook Sycamore's hand, and he and his friends set off towards the stadium with a lot to consider.

* * *

The field for Drasna's battle was circular as well, but with two curved pots with something burning on the inside, as a light stream of steam slowly emitted from them. A purple glow illuminated the floor of the battlefield, as some unknown material sat underneath.

The announced introduced both Niko and Drasna and, as usual, the referee explained the rules of the match. Niko looked over at his next opponent—an elderly lady with black hair and the odd-looking necklace made from what he presumed were dragon's fangs.

"I'm excited for this battle, Niko," Drasna said. "I've kept an eye on you throughout the Lumiose Conference. You seem like a strong trainer, a worthy opponent to take on the test of dragons. Are you ready?"

"Yes," Niko said simply. In the stands his friends and family watched. Noibat—herself a dragon type—sat on Charlotte's lap to watch the battle. In the President's box Bonnie, Clemont, and Ash all watched as well. His rivals were watching.

"Good. Good, then let us begin. Altaria, please come on out!" she said kindly.

"Glalie, I choose you!" Niko shouted.

"Starting strong with an ice type," Warren said. "This looks promising."

"Use ice beam!" Niko commanded.

"Altaria, cotton guard," Drasna said. She wasn't as fired up as Malva or Siebold. In fact, Niko hadn't fought a trainer quite like this. He got an entirely different vibe from her. Altaria surrounded itself in fluffy cotton to minimize the damage taken from ice beam before using moonblast on Drasna's command. The Humming Pokémon conjured a pink orb that looked similar to the moon and fired it off, nearly hitting Glalie, who protected himself at the last minute.

"Double team!" Niko commanded.

"Sing, Altaria," Drasna said in a calm tone. Altaria now released a sweet song that, once again, Glalie managed to protect from. It, however, forced the copies to disappear.

"Ice beam!" Niko commanded. Glalie fired off another round of ice beam which hit Altaria.

"Dragon pulse, please," Drasna said, holding a hand out kindly. Altaria released a stream of pink and purple draconic energy that hit Glalie, knocking the Face Pokémon to the ground.

"Glalie, you can keep going! Let's set the tone for this battle! Use double team!" Glalie multiplied himself and all charged towards Altaria. "Use crunch!"

"Dragon pulse, please," Altaria fired off the dragon pulse, eliminating all but one of the copies. Glalie then appeared to the Humming Pokémon's side and crunched down on its wing, eliciting a scream from Altaria.

"Ice beam!" Niko commanded.

"Moonblast," Drasna said. Both Pokémon summoned their attacks and repelled on another—Glalie crashed down into the ground, and Altaria several feet away. Glalie struggled to get back up, as did Altaria. Both stared the other down before collapsing in defeat.

"Altaria and Glalie are both unable to battle! Niko and Drasna will now send out their second Pokémon!" the referee declared.

"Altaria, well done," Drasna said. "Noivern, your turn darling!"

"Druddigon, I choose you!" Niko shouted. "Let's start off with dragon claw!"

"Dragon pulse, Noivern."

Druddigon dodged the stream of draconic energy before leaping into the air and slashing at Noivern with large, green glowing claws. Noivern skillfully dodged it before pelting the Cave Pokémon with a flamethrower, forcing Druddigon into the ground.

"Noivern, use dragon pulse again," Drasna said calmly. Druddigon dodge the attack and shot into the air to use dragon tail this time. Once again, Noivern managed to dodge the move as Druddigon glided back towards the ground.

We have to find some way to pin it down, Niko said. He then turned to the two pots on each side of the battlefield. I wonder if those move at all…he thought. "Druddigon, I've got a plan, but it's tricky. Are you up for it?"

Druddigon nodded.

"Excellent. Let's go! Druddigon, use night slash!" Niko commanded. The Cave Pokémon shot up into the air to tackle Noivern. He successfully did so, slashing at the Sound Wave Pokémon and knocking it into the ground. "Now, use superpower on that pot and throw it at Noivern!"

"Ah, Noivern, please dodge," Drasna said calmly, "I see what you're trying to do, Niko," she said as Druddigon picked up the pot and tossed it at Noivern. "I appreciate the effort, but I'm afraid that won't really work," she smiled. "Noivern, please use air slash."

The Sound Wave Pokémon fired off blue blades of cut air at Druddigon, who blocked them with night slash before charging in with dragon claw. This time, Noivern didn't budge—it stood its ground and pelted Druddigon with dragon pulse.

"Don't give in!" Niko commanded. Druddigon nodded, continuing to push forward, using his elongated green claws to protect himself from the draconic energy. "Remember why we're here, Druddigon!"

"DRUDD!" Druddigon roared out, bursting through the dragon pulse and slashing at Noivern, who collapsed onto a knee. Druddigon turned around, his tail alight with green energy.

"Now, dragon tail!"

"Flamethrower."

Druddigon fought through the stream of fire, as he did with dragon pulse, and slashed at Noivern with his tail, knocking the massive dragon-bat to the ground. Druddigon fell to one knee as well, wincing from the constant attacks thrown at him.

"Noivern is unable to battle, Druddigon is the winner!" the referee declared.

"Noivern, return. Well done. Kingdra, go," Drasna said, throwing out a third pokéball containing a massive seahorse-like Pokémon. "Use rain dance."

Suddenly a cloud appeared over the battlefield, and it began to rain.

"Druddigon, use dragon claw!" Niko commanded. The Cave Pokémon charged forward, using his wings to glide him over the now-slippery battlefield floor. However, Kingdra easily evaded it. "What the…?"

"Kingdra is a swift swimmer, Niko," Drasna said with a smile. "Kingdra use dragon dance."

"Druddigon, dragon claw!" Niko commanded. Once more, Kingdra managed to dodge the move.

"Now, dragon pulse," Drasna said. Kingdra fired off a stream of draconic energy that struck Druddigon directly in the chest, launching the already exhausted Cave Pokémon into one of the pots, easily shattering it. Druddigon couldn't get back up.

"Druddigon is unable to battle, Kingdra is the winner!" the referee declared. "Niko will now use his third Pokémon!"

"Serperior, you're up!" Niko commanded, finally summoning the Regal Pokémon. "It's been awhile. Let's win this one, like we always do. Serperior, use coil!"

"Dragon dance, Kingdra," Drasna said. For nearly a minute, the two Pokémon sat there, powering themselves up. "Now, dragon pulse."

"Serperior, dodge it!" Niko shouted. The Regal Pokémon slid and slithered across the wet battlefield before charging down towards Kingdra. "Leaf blade!"

"Kingdra, dodge it," Drasna said. Kingdra attempted to move out of the way, but it seemed that Serperior managed to catch up with it, striking the Dragon Pokémon with her long, glowing green tail. Kingdra was slammed into the ground. "Ice beam."

"Defensive leaf tornado!" Niko commanded, and Serperior summoned a thick column of leaves around herself. "You've been practicing that, haven't you?" he muttered. "Now, use coil on Kingdra!"

"Dragon dance," Drasna said as Serperior lunged forward and wrapper her long, serpentine body around Kingdra.

"Giga drain!" Niko commanded. Serperior began to glow green as she absorbed Kingdra's energy. "And…throw it!" She then turned onto her side and spun vertically, eventually rocketing Kingdra across the field. "Yeah…I remember why I love battling with you so much. Serperior, leaf blade!"

"Dragon pulse," Drasna directed. Kingdra fired off a stream of draconic energy that Serperior quickly moved past before leaping into the air and somersaulting forward to slam her tail down on Kingdra's head, forcing the Dragon Pokémon into the ground.

"Kingdra is unable to battle, Serperior is the winner!" the referee declared. "Drasna will now use her fourth Pokémon!"

"Niko isn't doing too bad, actually," JJ said, leaning forward. Charlotte nodded in agreement, with Noibat chittering excitedly for her friend and his Pokémon. Earlier in the battle, when Noivern was out, Noibat seemed particularly interested, even leaving Charlotte's lap momentarily to get a close look.

"Druddigon, your turn," Drasna said. This was her fourth Pokémon, and Niko still found her calmness unnerving. "Use dragon tail."

"Leaf blade!" Niko commanded, thrusting a hand forward. Serperior slithered across the battlefield towards Druddigon. Both tails were glowing bright green when they leap into the air and collided them together, emitting a powerful vibration from the impact. "Coil!"

"Wait, Druddigon," Drasna said quietly.

"Giga drain!" Niko shouted. Serperior once more took energy from her opponent before it struck.

"Revenge," Drasna said. Druddigon's eyes began to lightly glow and he grabbed Serperior by the tail and threw her off somehow. "Now, dragon tail."

"Serperior!" Niko commanded as the Regal Pokémon was in midair. "Re-orient yourself and use leaf blade!"

Serperior cried out as she dove towards her opponent, her tail glowing a bright green color. Druddigon held out its claws, ready to strike. But Serperior was faster, and with a quick somersault through the air, she landed her tail atop the Cave Pokémon's head, forcing it into the ground.

"Now use leaf tornado!" Niko commanded. Serperior landed and fired off a rush of leaves from her tail, striking the Cave Pokémon and overwhelming it. "Now finish it off with leaf blade!"

"Dragon tail, dear," Drasna said. Druddigon's tail lit up with a green glow as it charged towards Serperior. Both attacks collided, just like they did the first time, except Serperior managed to throw down Druddigon's tail this time, as if it were an arm wrestling match.

"Leaf blade!" Niko shouted. Serperior spun around and slammed her tail into Druddigon's face, forcing the Cave Pokémon to loudly crash into the battlefield, unable to move.

"Druddigon is unable to battle, Serperior is the winner!" the referee declared. "Drasna will now use her fifth Pokémon!"

"Niko's lost two Pokémon and she's lost four…" Warren said. "He can win this!"

"I think so, too," Charlotte said, petting Noibat as she chittered cheerfully.

"Dragalge, you're up," Drasna said, summoning a thin, odd-looking Pokémon that resembled a sea dragon. Its main body was curved in way that resembles the number three. Its sides were a dull shade of purple with slender vertical lines. Its pectoral fins and tail fin resembled dried up kelp. It had a straightened brown snout, a red leaf-like crest, and a brown-green antenna on top of its head.

"Dragalge, the Mock Kelp Pokémon. Poison and dragon type. Their poison is strong enough to eat through the hull of a tanker, and they spit it indiscriminately at anything that enters their territory," Charlotte's pokédex read.

"Dragalge, use sludge bomb," Drasna commanded. She seemed slightly terser, but subtly so. Niko then commanded Serperior to block them with leaf blade, and successfully so. "Hm. Dragon pulse."

"Serperior, dodge it and use coil!" Niko directed. The Regal Pokémon slid across the battlefield and away from Dragalge, curling up and emitting a transparent aura.

"Sludge bomb," Drasna directed. Dragalge then fired off a series of small, purple and black balls made of toxic material at Serperior, who winced as she took each hit. "Now, dragon pulse."

"Serperior, use—" Niko paused. Serperior briefly turned a shade of purple. "You're poisoned…" he steeled himself. They weren't going down without a fight. "Serperior, use leaf blade!"

Serperior dodged the dragon pulse and slithered towards the Mock Kelp Pokémon, the tip of her tail lighting up in a light green glow. She then leapt into the air and was about to strike when the poison gripped her again and she fell to the ground, just as Dragalge pelted her with sludge bomb and ended it.

"Serperior is unable to battle, Dragalge is the winner!" the referee declared. "Niko will now use his next Pokémon!"

"Serperior, return," Niko said. "You did great. You took down two Elite 4-level Pokémon. I'm very proud of you. Slurpuff, I choose you!"

"Ah, a fairy type. I was wondering when I'd see one of those. Dragalge, ready yourself, please," Drasna said kindly.

"Slurpuff, use cotton guard!" Niko commanded. Slurpuff surrounded herself with cotton candy armor and rushed forward towards her opponent, who pelted the field with sludge bombs in an attempt to strike. Slurpuff, knowing better, dodged each one before leaping into the air and using dazzling gleam, which hit Dragalge but hardly seemed to faze it.

"Dragalge, thunderbolt."

"Use psychic to throw it back!" Niko commanded. The Meringue Pokémon's eyes began to glow as she bent the bolt of electricity and thrust it towards Dragalge, who dodged the attack and retaliated with sludge bomb. "Psychic again!"

Slurpuff's eyes continued to glow as she threw more attacks at the Mock Kelp Pokémon, none of them really doing much damage. This is what Drasna wanted, Niko realized—if Slurpuff was too focused on redirecting the attacks, then she couldn't use psychic on Dragalge directly, allowing the Mock Kelp Pokémon to get away with, well, just about anything.

"Dragalge, use surf," Drasna commanded. Dragalge summoned a wave of water that came crashing down on Slurpuff. "Now, thunderbolt."

With the Meringue Pokémon wet, Dragalge conjured a bolt of lightning that struck the fairy type, enhancing the power of the attack and rocketing her backwards.

"Slurpuff!" Niko shouted as Slurpuff fell towards his feet. She slowly got back up, albeit with difficulty. "Fine then. Dazzling gleam!"

"Dragalge, sludge bomb," Drasna commanded. The Mock Kelp Pokémon fired off another series of sludge balls at Slurpuff, who used the dazzling gleam to stop some of them and dodge the rest on her own.

"Play rough!" Niko commanded. Slurpuff charged down the field before leaping onto Dragalge and mercilessly beating on it, hoping to wear it down enough to use psychic on it. However, immediately after making contact Slurpuff felt sick—she briefly turned a light shade of purple, and her attacks got weaker.

"Sludge bomb," Drasna commanded. Dragalge then shot Slurpuff with a series of thick balls of sludge, launching the Meringue Pokémon into the ground. She slid for some time before coming to a stop in front of her trainer.

"Slurpuff is unable to battle, Dragalge is the winner!" the referee declared.

"Return, Slurpuff," Niko said. She's managed to even the playing field now. All I have are two Pokémon left. But…this is exactly how I fought against Malva. We can do this.

"It's gonna be a close match," Clemont said in the box above. "Think he can pull it off?"

"I don't know," Bonnie said, "Drasna is not the Elite you want to underestimate."

"More so than Wikstrom?" Clemont asked. "If I remember, you struggled against him the most."

"Drasna was easier for me, yes, but that doesn't mean she's easier for others. Niko is having difficulty with that Dragalge, which means he will have far more difficulty with her last Pokémon, if he makes it that far."

"Aurorus, I choose you!" Niko shouted, summoning the Tundra Pokémon. In the Pokémon Village, Wulfric and the others were cheering for their friend who just appeared on the television. "Use ice beam!"

"Dragalge, dodge and use thunderbolt," Drasna commanded. The two elemental attacks collided in the middle of the field before Aurorus emitted a thunder wave from her massive, rainbow-colored sails to temporarily paralyze the Mock Kelp Pokémon. "Hmm."

"Aurorus, use avalanche!" Niko commanded. Above Dragalge appeared a thick, dark cloud. Then a massive avalanche of rocks and snow pelted the paralyzed Dragalge, forcing it into the ground. "Ancientpower!"

"Dragalge, surf," Drasna said calmly. The Mock Kelp Pokémon got back up, surprisingly quick, and summoned a massive wave of water that poured over the ancientpower and struck Aurorus directly. "Again."

"Aurorus, keep going! Use ice beam!" Niko shouted. His entire match might hinge on Aurorus defeating Dragalge, since it was clear Drasna has not yet sent out her strongest Pokémon. The Tundra Pokémon roared out, her sails flaying in the air as she fired off a powerful stream of ice from her mouth, freezing the oncoming wave. "Avalanche!"

"Dragalge, dodge and use thunderbolt up close," Drasna said calmly again, as if she believed that she had the upper hand still. The Mock Kelp Pokémon leapt over the frozen wave, dodging the avalanche, and fired off a thunderbolt at Aurorus, who blocked it by using avalanche on herself. "Now, surf please."

"Use ice beam again!" Niko shouted. Aurorus managed to strike quicker, hitting Dragalge directly with the ice beam and knocking it backwards onto the first frozen wave, causing it to slide down around it. "Avalanche!"

While Dragalge was down, Aurorus released another avalanche of snow and rocks from the sky, pelting the poison and dragon Pokémon. Niko then turned to the referee, who had to tilt his head to the side, around the wave, to see the result of the attack.

"Dragalge is unable to battle, Aurorus is the winner!" he declared. "Drasna will now use her sixth and final Pokémon!"

"Dragalge, return. Well done, my dear. I am very proud of your work today. Niko," she said with an elderly smile, "you're doing well. Very well, if I must say. Dragon Pokémon are not easy to overcome, yet you are doing so quicker and with more passion than my opponents in the past have. But now, I think it's time for this to end. Salamence, I choose you."

As soon as Salamence entered the field, Niko noticed the necklace it was wearing. Like Drasna's, it was made of dragon fangs, albeit smaller ones. Drasna then touched her own Key Stone that sat amidst her fanged necklace.

"Salamence, my dear, show Niko the power we inherited from our ancestors. Mega evolve!"

Salamence began to change form, far more than many of the mega evolutions Niko had seen previously. Its wings melded together into a single huge, crescent-shaped wing. Its face, neck, body and tail were narrower, and its tail was noticeably shorter in length. The ridges above its eyes were now far less prominent, and it no longer possessed the thick, gray scaling over its lower jaw. Instead, the smooth red flesh underneath had been left exposed, increasing its streamline appearance. The upper pair of fins resting on the sides of its head were now elongated and tapered. The remnants of its shelled underbelly were drastically transformed into a segmented, more aerodynamic, vest-like armored frame. This frame encased its chest and shoulders with the pieces interlocking.

Niko looked in awe at the massive Pokémon floating in front of him and Aurorus. He felt a pang of fear as he looked up at the Dragon Pokémon.

"Aurorus, use ice beam!" Niko shouted.

"Salamence, please use dragon rush," Drasna commanded. Mega Salamence dove towards the ground, skillfully dodging the ice beam and crashing into Aurorus, dragging it across the battlefield. "Flamethrower," she said calmly. While holding onto Aurorus, who was tucked inside Mega Salamence's left wing, the Dragon Pokémon fired off a stream of fire that burned the left side of Aurorus' body. She roared out before Mega Salamence turned and threw her across the field. Aurorus crashed onto the ground, unable to get back up.

"Aurorus is unable to battle, Salamence is the winner! Niko will now send out his sixth Pokémon!"

"Woah," Warren said in shock. "That thing is…"

"…strong," Charlotte said. For the first time in a while, she wondered if Niko could actually win this.

"Aurorus, return," Niko said. "Feraligatr, I choose you!" The Big Jaw Pokémon was summoned to the field, looking up at his opponent and not feeling entirely intimidated—at least, not like Aurorus and Niko did. "Use hydro pump!"

"Flamethrower," Drasna said calmly. Mega Salamence fired off a heavy stream of blue fire at his new opponent, which was met with a high-pressured blast of water. "Dragon rush."

"Ice punch!" Niko commanded, but he underestimated Mega Salamence's speed. The Dragon Pokémon was soon upon Feraligatr, who barely landed the attack before being thrown to the floor. The Big Jaw Pokémon slowly got back up, stumbling a little but successfully getting back on his feet. "We can do this, Feraligatr. We're capable of this. Use whirlpool!"

"FERA!" Feraligatr roared, conjuring a swirling vortex of water and tossing it at Mega Salamence, who dodged the attack and used dragon rush again, knocking Feraligatr back to the ground. "Fe…ra…"

"You can do this!" Niko shouted. "Don't give up! Use ice punch!"

"Salamence, use aerial ace," Drasna commanded. Mega Salamence charged back down to the field, its wings as red as blood, as it slashed as Feraligatr's side, too fast for its opponent to land an ice punch. "Now, dragon claw."

"Feraligatr!" Niko shouted. Mega Salamence charged down from behind, two small green claws hiding under his wings. Salamence turned to the side to let the claws strike Feraligatr, this time knocking it down for good.

"Fera…fera…" Feraligatr said, breathing heavily. It then collapsed onto the ground, face-first.

"Feraligatr is unable to battle, Salamence is the winner! The victory goes to Drasna of the Kalos Elite 4!"

Niko rushed to Feraligatr's side, sliding across the field. "It's okay buddy. What matters is that you're alright," he said in response to Feraligatr's miserable expression. He pet the crocodile before returning him, standing up, and turning to face Drasna.

"You did well," she said with a bright smile. "You came up short, but no master of anything succeeds 100% of the time," she grabbed Niko's shoulder. For an elderly woman, she was quite tall, only a few inches shorter than Niko. "You show an extraordinary amount of promise, Niko. Don't let that get away from you. Don't forget that."

"Thanks, Drasna," Niko said, lowering his head in reverence.

"Oh please, my boy, I might be an Elite, but you have proved yourself on par with us. With more training, you could certainly defeat me."

"You think so?" Niko said. It was odd for such a powerful trainer to say this, but he could tell Drasna meant it with full sincerity.

"Indeed. No great trainer should believe that they are invincible; that they are unbeatable. We all lose eventually. But," she raised a finger, "we can all rise to see another day, too."

Niko was taken aback, again, by the unusual kindness and wisdom Drasna imparted on him.

He simply nodded, Drasna brought him in for a hug, and they left it at that.

* * *

 **Author's Note: I hope you all enjoyed. Of all of the Kalos Elite 4, I really wished they showed Drasna in the anime. Given the tone set in XY( &Z), she would have been a solid character. I tried to replicate her calm and endearing personality in this battle. I think I did a decent job of it.**

 **Next episode: Season 7 finale!**


	55. A Champion in the making

**Episode 55: A Champion in the making**

Niko sat at a table in the dining hall. It would be his last night at the stadium, the last night in Lumiose City, and his last night in Kalos. To his left and right were his friends and family, all of whom were consoling him, congratulating him on the progress he made, and how proud they were of him.

"Thanks," Niko said. He wanted to say more—say how I didn't think they should be proud, that while he made progress it seemed like it was for nothing. But he didn't want to create conflict. He didn't have the energy to argue.

Then he felt Charlotte touch his wrist. He turned to her and, in that moment, it seemed like they both said all that they needed to. And Niko smiled. He felt a little bit better. Plus, he needed to remember Drasna's words to him: No great trainer should believe that they are invincible; that they are unbeatable. We all lose eventually. But…we can all rise to see another day, too.

As he plotted what he wanted to do next, he had to remember that.

The following morning, Niko and his Kalos team began the first of several goodbyes that day—with Aurorus.

"Still going back to Wulfric?" Warren asked, looking up at the Tundra Pokémon.

Niko nodded. "I haven't really found a way to keep her at home yet, but I'll keep in touch with her. I promise," he said, looking directly into Aurorus' blue eyes. "Thank you, Aurorus, for everything. You did really well, and I hope you had fun with it too."

Aurorus lowered her head to nuzzle Niko, giving him a brief brain freeze. In turn, he rubbed the side of her face. He really was going to miss her.

Each of Niko's Pokémon came up to Aurorus and said their farewells as well. Chesnaught, Talonflame, Slurpuff, Clawitzer, and even Pangoro all walked up to it. Pangoro in particular said something to Aurorus, who nodded and smiled.

Niko returned her and took her inside to a room in the stadium's Pokémon Center where he could send the pokéball to Wulfric. After that, he returned back outside to hang out with the rest of his friends and family.

Next to leave were Emily and Sydney. Charlotte and Emily had an intimate moment where they said goodbye to one another, as Charlotte had decided to go immediately to Pallet Town with Niko. Warren was going to do the same, but then go back to Castelia City to visit with Sydney.

"Niko, well done," Emily said, adjusting her glasses. "I can say I'm proud of the man you are, and an excellent friend—and mentor—to my daughter."

"And boyfriend, as it turns out," Niko said, turning red as he looked away.

"Huh?" Emily and Daisy both said.

"YES!" Warren shouted, thrusting two fists into the air. "YES! I knew it! I told you, Niko! I told you!"

"Yeah, literally," Niko said with a smirk as he put his arm around Charlotte, who also blushed.

"Well, of all of the men in the world, I think I can trust you the most with my daughter," Emily said. "Charlotte's told me about, err, some of the trouble you've gotten into. Ironically, you seem like a safe person to be with."

"I appreciate that…I guess," Niko said nervously. "Anyway, thank you for coming to support me. I really appreciate you taking the time off for it."

"Well, I was here to support Charlotte, too," Emily said.

"You stayed long after that. It means a lot."

"You're welcome. Let me know what you two are up to. I mean, as far as travelling is concerned," she said, ignoring JJ's and Jake's snickering as well as Niko's and Charlotte's profusely red faces.

"Will do, Mom," Charlotte said, looking her mom in the eye.

"Niko!" Sydney said, running up to embrace her friend. "I'm so proud of you. You're becoming the trainer you've always wanted to be."

"I think so, too," Niko replied. "Thanks, Sydney."

"Anytime. Please come and visit Castelia City sometime."

"Absolutely."

With that, Emily and Sydney left for the airport, leaving the rest of the group to wait until they had to leave for their flight—a couple of hours.

"So Brittany, JJ, Fay," Niko said, turning to his friends. "What're you all up to now?"

"I was thinking of going back to Kanto for a bit. Maybe participate in some contests there," Brittany said with a smile. "You should come and watch them."

"Absolutely. I'd love to. Fay?"

"I'm heading back to Oak's lab. He called me a couple days ago and has a new assignment for me," Fay said. Niko nodded and then turned to JJ.

"I need to get back home. Not Pallet Town, my new home. I left Maizie and most of my Pokémon in charge of our daycare business, and I'm actually a little afraid…she doesn't really know anything about breeding."

"Where is home for you, now?" Niko asked.

"Akala Island in the Alola region. You guys should come visit sometime! They don't have any gyms or anything, but it's a beautiful place to vacation."

Niko turned to Warren and Charlotte. "Actually, I think we could all use a vacation at this point. So, yes, we'll take you up on that offer. I just need to go home first."

"Absolutely. If you're ever in the area, let me know. I'll gladly show ya around."

"Looking forward to it. So, you're leaving soon then?" Niko asked.

JJ turned towards a cab nearby. "Yup. Sorry for the short notice," he held out his hand. "Pokémon Master."

"Heh. Breeding…master?" Niko asked. It sounded weird the more he said it.

"I have no idea what that title would be, but sure. Breeding master," JJ said, pulling Niko for a hug. "I'm very proud of you, man. You've come a long way."

"It's because I had such great friends to help me along the way," Niko said. JJ let go and looked up at Niko, his curly blonde hair lightly shaking in the wind.

"I'll catch ya later," JJ said, waving to Niko. Niko and his friends all waved as well before looking at one another.

"Guess we should head for the airport, too," Niko said, at a complete loss for words otherwise.

"Yes, our flight leaves soon," Daisy said. "Got everything?" she asked not just of Niko, but of Charlotte, Warren, Brittany, Fay, and Jake as well. They all nodded, and soon enough the group was off to the airport, and away from Kalos.

* * *

"Pangoro, use hammer arm!" Niko commanded. The Daunting Pokémon charged down the field, arm glowing bright white.

"Blastoise, use rapid spin!" Brittany commanded. The Shellfish Pokémon spun around, easily deflecting it. "Is that all you've got, Champion Niko?"

Niko shook his head. "It's only the beginning. Sky uppercut!"

"GORO!" Pangoro shouted, slamming his fist into Blastoise's chin, launching it into the air and onto its back. Niko then directed him to use hammer arm on Blastoise's underbelly, which then defeated him.

"You were saying?" Niko asked as he high-fived Pangoro.

"Fair enough. Well done though, Blastoise," Brittany said, returning the water type. "It's been a while since we've battled. I enjoyed that.

"I did too," Niko said before turning to Charlotte and Warren, who were watching their Pokémon play.

It had been a little over a month since Niko's defeat in the Champion's League. During that time he largely spent it showing Warren and Charlotte more of Kanto, alongside Brittany. They went to a couple of Pokémon Contests in Saffron and Fuchsia City, where Brittany won one ribbon and nearly got a second. At one point, Niko thought he saw Ash from the Lumiose Conference, but wasn't entirely sure about it, since there wasn't a pikachu nearby. Otherwise, Charlotte and Niko hung around with their Pokémon and occasionally trained with them.

Charlotte wanted to help Noibat learn how to fight as well, and found herself only able to battle Warren's Pokémon, who had far less battling experience than any of Niko's or most of Charlotte's. She also tried mega evolution with Tyranitar on a few more occasions, usually going against Niko's Aggron, which quickly developed into a friendly rivalry, where the two quickly became evenly matched in strength. Warren, too, got better at battling, as did his Pokémon. His Litleo improved immensely, eventually learning fire fang in a practice battle with Noibat. However, he didn't get too much new experience, as he tried to split his time between Castelia City and Pallet Town, spending more time in the former for obvious reasons.

Niko didn't attempt mega evolution with Venusaur as much, and when he did he tried to focus on controlling the energy he found within himself. He also brought this up to Professor Oak one day, about a month into the summer that year. He seemed to agree with Professor Oak's assessment, and pledged to look more into it, specifically asking Fay to re-direct some of his research projects towards mega evolution. The young research assistant wanted to observe Niko's mega evolution up close, including testing his vitals before, during, and after the process, for analytical purposes.

Niko also went to visit his father's grave for the first time while at home. On his first day back, in fact. With Charlotte and Venusaur by his side, Niko knelt down in front of the slab of stone and laid down a pink-petaled flower that Venusaur found. "I won, Dad," Niko said, his voice cracking a little. "I won a Pokémon League, just like you said I could. And I wish you could've seen it. Venusaur here kicked ass. I, err, miss you. A lot," he closed his eyes for a moment, holding in all of the feelings he had before releasing them all out in one, long, powerful breath of air. "I'm going to continue improving. Doing whatever I can to achieve the future you wanted for me. The future I want for myself. I love you," he then stood up, turning to Charlotte and hugged her while resting one of his hands on Venusaur's forehead.

While Niko, Charlotte, and Warren were figuring out what to do next, or where to go, Jake had little difficulty with it. He had decided to explore the Sinnoh region, as it was where Niko met some of his—in Jake's mind—coolest Pokémon. Niko, with the help of Oak, set up a meeting with him and Professor Rowan. On the day he decided to leave, Niko gave him some advice.

"Don't give up."

Jake looked up at him, and nodded, remembering what the Sinnoh League ultimately did to Niko's psyche. They hugged, and soon enough he was off on his own again. It made Niko truly consider the passage of time for a moment. It seemed like yesterday he was in Hoenn, letting his little brother travel with him and see the world. Now, he was off on his own, aiming to compete in his fourth Pokémon League, just like Niko did when he went off to Sinnoh. Jake, like his brother, left his Pokémon at home, with the exception of the gligar he caught on a recent trip to Johto, while he was visiting a friend of his.

Lastly, Niko and Charlotte spent a lot of time together, improving their relationship. They went on the occasional date, Niko showed her places in Kanto that he particularly liked—such as the eastern coast near Lavender Town, and then the one near Bill's House. He showed her some of the places he caught Pokémon, and they even made a trip to Johto, visiting Olivine City for a day or two. He tried to keep the two of them busy, not just for the sake of doing things, but for the sake of doing things with her. Niko could tell she appreciated it, too, especially since they were all places he had been before.

But they both needed something new, something to fill that void that was missing in their life as a couple—adventure. That's when, one day, Niko got an idea.

"We should visit JJ," he said. Charlotte looked up at him—it was late at night, and they were about to fall asleep. Off at the other end of the room sat Niko's six badge cases and his incomplete Battle Frontier case, alongside his trophy for winning the Lumiose Conference.

"Isn't it too late to be discussing this?" Charlotte said, rubbing her eyes.

"You're right, but maybe we should consider it! I mean, we don't have much else to do anyways. C'mon, let's leave the Pokémon here and grab Warren on the way. JJ said Alola isn't as far from Kanto as Unova is. So next time he visits we should go!"

Charlotte, wanting to sleep more than vacation in Alola, simply nodded and fell back on the pillow, quickly falling into a restful slumber. Niko followed suit, but stayed awake for some time more, thinking more about the logistics of the vacation.

* * *

"Of course I'll go!" Warren said the following morning on a video chat. "I'll have to talk to Sydney about it—she's used up all of her vacation days for a while, so she might not be able to visit, but I'm sure I'll be able to go! When're you leaving?"

"We were thinking in a week or so," Niko said, turning to Charlotte, who nodded in response. Warren exploded with excitement.

"I can't wait! I'll get my plane ticket and meet you in Pallet Town!" Warren said.

"Actually, why don't you meet us in Alola? Save some money," Niko said. Warren nodded eagerly.

"Gotcha. Guys…this'll be so exciting! I can't wait to tell Sydney!" he then hung up, just as his Pokémon were about to wave hello.

Niko sat back and took a deep breath. Charlotte looked at him, a smile on her face.

"What's up?" she asked.

"I have a feeling this'll be more than just a vacation," Niko said. Charlotte didn't say much else, she only nodded. It's as if she knew that their lives were about to whipped up into some new adventure, badge quest or not. After the surprises she saw at the Kalos League, and in Kalos more generally, anything was possible.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Ending this season was...difficult. Ending most seasons are because all I want to say is "yo they're going to [insert region here]," but that's poor story-telling. I think I did it well enough. Let me know if you have any suggestions, as always (and I don't mean ones like "have Niko beat the champion" or "hey have Niko catch [x] Pokemon!"...those don't count).**

 **Season 8 will begin on February 1st and, as always, two episodes will be scheduled for that day.**

 **I'm also thinking of going back and editing parts of previous seasons. I've wanted to do that for a while but, now with some extra time on my hands since I won't be writing, I might go back and do that. If I do, i'll update it here, in the Author's Note for later episodes, since doesn't let you know when i'm replaced or updated a chapter. At least, I don't think it does.**

 **Also, like last season i'll pose a couple questions. I'd appreciate some construction (positive and negative, if possible) feedback on this season as a whole. To remind you, here are the questions. You don't *have* to answer these, only if you have comments, questions, or criticisms. As always, you can also PM me as well:**

 **-What did you like about this season?**

 **-What did you not like about this season?**

 **-What could I have done better in this season (don't say that [insert character here] didn't get so-and-so Pokemon, or that I should ship two people. No. Those aren't acceptable answers, because I plan all of these things out ahead of time. I already know who gets who)?**

 **-What can I do better moving forward with the story (same rules apply here as they did in the previous question)?**

 **Lastly, as always, i'd like to thank everyone who commented, followed, and favorited this season. As I always say, it's y'all that keep me accountable, even when I feel like I have freakin' carpal tunnel (which I should prolly get checked out). Anyway:**

 **Thanks to Athios, Eeveefan20, Galisoneh, Hello 12, Jolteon2404, Kell5009, Mega Espeon, RubyOmegaGroudon, TheArmedShadowYT, YellowFlashCannon, Elven-in-name, HunterZX, Light Flame Blast, Micky223, Mortem Ensis47, PokeDude802, Hydroshuriken05, Pokemaster3164, and St. Elmo's Fire.**

 **Until next time,**

 **-Evanibble**


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